Plans for the news Sports Dream-funded project
If you build it, they will come.
That’s the hope of Selsey’s cricket and football clubs. In a joint project with the town council, they’ve been granted permission to build a brand new clubhouse that will be used by both sports teams and community groups. All they need now is the money to do it. They’re calling it ‘Sports Dream’; let’s hope they can turn it into a reality, but with the development expected to cost in the region of £40,000, the Clubs have a lot of work ahead of them.
The dream and the ambition are certainly there and there’s been an early boost for Selsey Cricket Club after they recently signed a three year sponsorship deal with local listings company HugoFox.com.
The last couple of years saw a whole host of fundraising events for the project, including a Sports Dream Festival. The event, combined with the opening of a new BMX track, attracted 500 visitors to East Beach and has been hailed a great success. It raised both money and awareness for the Sports Dream Charity. July also saw a 20/20 Cricket Match in aid of the project, which also attracted hundreds of people and raised much-needed funds and awareness for the scheme.
Selsey Cricket Chairman Andy Homer told HugoFox.com:
Selsey's cricketing girls get their practice in!
“For the clubs to be working in this way is a miracle”.
It might be a miracle but there are certainly strong foundations for this build: between the two clubs they have a 200 year sporting history in the town. And it’s no wonder they’re aiming for the stars with this project as amateur cricketer Sir Patrick Moore used to be a member, whilst Hubert Doggart went on to play for England.
Not wanting to be outdone, there’s a strong football legacy in Selsey too. Danny Hinshelwood played for Brighton and Hove Albion and then managed Selsey Football Club for most of the last decade.
Those are the stars of the past and now Sports Dream is all about those who will shine in the future. The hope is that the new clubhouse will attract new teams, new
Selsey Cricket Club logo
sports and will boast community facilities that can be enjoyed by all.
The determination of the footballers and cricketers of Selsey should be enough to ensure that the project isn’t just a pipe dream, but a realistic and firm promise that sport will continue to thrive.
For more information and details of how you can support Sports Dream then log on to www.sportsdream.org, or visit Selsey Cricket Club’s Facebook page.
Don’t forget that signing-on night for all junior cricket teams is 3rd Feb 2012 from 18:30 onwards.