Corby’s rugby club set to re-open as a sports development centre

Corby’s old Rugby Club is set to re-open in the coming weeks as a sports development centre.

The Rugby Club closed in October last year after being open for more than six decades.

The site went completely out of use and the ground was left to go into disrepair.

Since then, Corby man Alex Kavanagh has been on a mission to get it re-opened as a multi sports development centre.

Alex got in touch with the leaseholder for the land as well as Rockingham Castle, who own the covenant on the land, to explore the possibility of bringing the site back into use.

Alex said: “It just felt like the right thing to do, to sort of investigate how we could bring it back to life and get it back in use.

“Everyone at the start was like ‘it’s not going to happen, too many hurdles to jump over’ and I’m not the most persistent person in the world if I’m totally honest. I have great ideas and then move on to another great idea but this just has grabbed me.

“At every hurdle there’s been someone who’s just gone ‘no keep going with this, it’s going to be worthwhile’ and that’s accelerated the whole project to where we are today really.

“It’s going to be up and running within the next two to three weeks.”

He is now just waiting for an amended lease and then once that is signed he will be setting up the site with 10 football pitches for different age groups.

It will be available for training for different local clubs, of which he has already had some interest in, and pending a food licence, there will also be a cafe and toilets on site as well, which will give parents a more comfortable venue when they are watching their children.

Alex has funded the project almost entirely off of his own back.

“We can’t get any funding from the FA because of the short tenure on the site initially,” he added.

“One place has given us £500 which has been gratefully received.

“Although I’ve asked for donations and sponsorship and all sorts, I think because nothing’s happening there, there’s nothing visible, no one's got the confidence to say ‘yeah okay let’s invest in this’. So everything put in so far to get things set up has been out of my own pocket which isn’t very deep unfortunately but as soon as the lease is signed we can then start getting on the pitches and getting them prepared.

“Corby itself is a great town for supporting things like this but it’s difficult at the moment with the way the economy is and when there’s nothing visible to see, it raises doubts in your mind as to how valid the project is, totally understandable.

“In order to get it up and running, I’m going to be forking out somewhere in the region of £10,000 which is a scary amount that I don’t have but it’s got to happen now quite honestly. We’re at a stage where there’s no going back, it is a living and breathing beast.”

They received £500 from Technifast Ltd and according to Alex, LM Academy is kindly going to pay for a year up front to support with set up costs.

Alex, a football coach at Corby Warriors and Corby Town, has seen the way in which football and other sports can benefit children and this has been the driving force behind his motivation for getting the site back up and running.

Alex said: “I really enjoy the football side of it but more than that I see the enjoyment that the kids get out of training and out of playing.

“It sounds cheesy but my lad plays and just the fact that he’s with other friends in a safe positive environment for five, six or seven hours a week, that’s all time where they're not out in the town centre, bored, without anything practical to aim at.”

The site will start as a football development centre but once they have managed to purchase it, Alex intends to make it a multi-sports facility with hockey and netball planned. He would also like to have training courses for refereeing at the site.

Alex said: “It’s not just for a year, it’s not just for two years, this has a sustainability that can help support kids right the way through for the next 10/15/20 years which is massively important I think.”

Alex is still currently looking for funding and donations. If you’d like to donate, visit Alex’s online Collection Pot.

They will also have advertising on site, for any enquiries regarding this, email: [email protected].