Sport / Gilbertson Park to become temporary home of rugby ahead of 3G pitch construction
LERWICK’S Gilbertson Park is set to become the home of Shetland rugby from now until the end of the season.
The lines have been marked out on the grass for the Gilbertson to become the temporary home of rugby, with goalposts set to go up shortly.
It comes with construction work on replacing the current rugby pitch at Clickimin with a new all-weather 3G pitch set to get underway in early March.
The council’s sports and leisure manager Neil Watt confirmed Shetland’s rugby teams will move to the Gilbertson Park until the end of the rugby season in April.
“This is because it has the size required for a rugby pitch and isn’t generally required for football until the end of April,” he said.
“We have informed the various football associations and rugby clubs of this proposal, and they are all understanding of the need for this short-term solution while the 3G pitch is under construction.”
Both the men’s and women’s rugby sides are scheduled to play at home on Saturday 1 March, with the men’s side hosting Banff and Shetland Valkyries facing Stewartry in the first fixture of their regional play-off series.
Valkyries will also welcome Biggar and Dundee Valkyries to the Gilbertson Park, with the men set to play a further four home games after their clash with Banff in early March.
Football association president Jakob Eunson told Shetland News they were expecting the outdoor football season to start in late April when the grass pitches open up.
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