Two sports clubs in County Durham are working together to create a new state-of-the-art sports facility dedicated to elite women’s football and cricket.
Durham Women’s FC and Durham Cricket are collaborating to try to secure the new facility at the Chester-le-Street Riverside Complex.
The North East is bidding to be the UK's first 'Region of Sport' and it is hoped this facility could help it stake its claim.
North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said: “There could not be a better place for an elite women’s sport centre than Chester-le-Street.
“Durham Women’s FC and Durham Cricket fly the flag for women’s sport at an elite level but our region is a hotbed of young talent, with some of the strongest grassroots women’s leagues in the country.
“We will make North East England the first UK Region of Sport, and projects like this have huge potential to be part of that story, and an inspiration for girls growing up now that they can be the superstars of the future.”
Community partners are working alongside the two clubs to try to create the centre, which would be the UK’s first new stadium designed around the needs of the female athlete and their fans.
There are also wider ambitions from both parties to create a women’s sports hub at the Chester-le-Street Riverside Complex.
The centre would become a base for Durham Women’s FC, presently fourth in the Barclays Women’s Championship, with facilities for day-to-day training, a performance centre and administration offices.
These facilities would also be available for community use for male and female grassroots sport.
The club is only one of two women’s teams in the UK which is independently owned and not affiliated with a men’s team.
The development would create a link with Durham Cricket, which has recently been granted a Tier 1 professional women’s team, with the elite sports training spaces having the potential to be used as a shared facility.
There are also proposals to create a 150-room hotel as part of the overall strategy of the site, creating more opportunities for residential sports events which will support the advancement of women’s and junior sports teams as well as benefitting the region’s economy.
Plans for the complex are in the early stages, with several options currently being developed before proposals are finalised.
Lee Sanders, director at Durham Women’s FC, said: “This is a fantastic prospect to create a women’s sports hub for Chester-le-Street and the wider region.
“Proposals for the site would allow for a new state-of-the-art facility specifically for women’s football and wider women’s sport, making it the first of its kind in the UK.
“The different options for the site will allow the complex to be multi-purpose, supporting Durham Women’s FC but also local girls and boys football clubs, athletics clubs, international cricket, as well as recreational space for the public and additional parking.
“Between all stakeholders, this will be a high-capital project including private and commercial investment. This will in turn create jobs in construction, leisure and hospitality benefitting the people of Chester-le-Street and the wider area.”
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Tim Bostock, chief executive officer at Durham Cricket, said: “We have fantastic women’s teams for both football and cricket in Durham, competing at elite professional levels.
“Creating this development to support women’s training will not only help these teams continue to achieve great things, but it also opens opportunities for more women and girls to get involved in football and cricket, sport, and the wider sporting event industry.”
Cllr James Rowlandson, Durham County Council portfolio holder for resources investments and assets said: “Talks are in very early stages, but we are looking forward to exploring this opportunity for Chester-le-Street and the county in the context of the master planning aspirations for the site, and the wider regional and national ambitions for sport.
"We have some fantastic female sporting talent in County Durham, and this is an exciting time for sport in the North East as we work towards our ambition of becoming the UK’s first Region of Sport.”
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