Sports parks in the municipality of Coevorden have been renovated considerably in recent months. Old field lighting has been replaced by LED lamps, there is better accessibility for the disabled and a brand new playing field has been arranged for many clubs.
Last night, the municipality concluded the ‘quality impulse for sports accommodations’ project with the associations. However, it is not quite finished yet: the special O2 sports fields still need to be grounded. In the canteen of football association NKVV in Dalerpeel last night, the cooperation between the municipality and the fourteen sports clubs was looked back on.
No billiard cloth yet
Twelve football and two korfball associations received a contribution from the subsidy pot of four million euros, made available by the municipality in 2019. An additional subsidy increased that amount to 5 million euros. 1.8 million of that went to the new fields, which are not yet there like a billiard cloth.
Better accessibility at sports parks was a condition of the municipal council, as was more sustainable LED lighting. Many associations cannot cough up the latter themselves. New sports fields were a wish of the clubs themselves.
O2 fields
A working group was set up, with three members from the associations. Eddie van der Weide is active in this on behalf of NKVV: “In the beginning we discussed with the associations what we would like. Those were artificial grass pitches, but it turned out to be far too expensive. In the end we opted for the so-called O2 fields.”
O2 sports fields consist of natural grass and have a bottom layer of lava material. The result is better drainage of rainwater and a top layer that dries faster. The fields can thus be played faster and more often, so that matches do not have to be canceled as often.
Still, many clubs are experiencing problems with the new, special fields, says Folkert Sinnema of VV Dalen. “When the fields were completed, the turf was beautifully green and easy to play on, but after a few matches the grass disappeared and the underlayment came up. Players were bothered by this, because the surface is then quite hard.”