Sailors in Portsmouth stepped in to help Pompey in the Community – the charitable arm of the city’s famous football club – with an ambitious project.
Named after a soldier, D-day veteran and life-long Pompey fan who died aged 100 in 2019, the John Jenkins Stadium is a mixture of football ground/pitches and community hub.
When complete, the stadium will allow the club – which already provides coaching and training programmes to more than 36,000 people every year through its existing outreach/community arm – to vastly enhance and expanse what it offers to locals.
The new complex, which is redeveloping the Moneyfields ground in the district of Copnor in the northeast of the city, will feature two 3G all-weather football pitches for use by Moneyfields, Pompey Women and the community
There’s also a gym, dance studio, boxing facilities, clubhouse, classrooms and a social club in the complex.
And the surrounding grounds will be landscaped and used for food growing projects, planting fruit trees and a ‘Tiny Forest’, one of Earthwatch Europe’s latest environmental initiatives.
The buildings are largely complete externally, but given the community nature of the project, the club has turned to volunteers to help with the fitting out.
Which is where the nine serving sailors stepped in. Responding to an appeal put out by the Royal Naval Association, they donned overalls, got paint brushes out and got stuck in.
“We'd like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to our painting helpers from the Royal Navy,” said Pompey In The Community’s Ellen Tonkin. “The John Jenkins Stadium is looking amazing!”
