AFC Portchester's £1.1m all-weather pitch at Wicor Recreation Ground hosts its first game on 24 October, with an open evening for residents on 22 October.

AFC Portchester’s new all-weather 3G pitch at Wicor Recreation Ground is ready to open. The first competitive match on it is on Saturday 24 October, when the club plays Bedfont Sports at 3pm. Residents can look round it first at an open evening on Thursday 22 October, 6.30pm to 8.30pm.

Fareham Borough Council announced the opening in a press release on 8 October. It says the project cost £1.1 million. The council put in a £105,000 grant, paid from Section 106 money that developers hand over for outdoor sport. The rest came from the club and football funding bodies, which the release does not name.

What the pitch is for

AFC Portchester runs 38 teams, across youth, senior, women’s and disability football, the council says. A 3G surface can be played on in any weather and in every season, unlike the grass it replaces.

The council says the new pitch will help the club expand:

  • disability football
  • walking football for over-50s
  • women’s and girls’ football
  • other inclusive programmes

Local schools, clubs and community groups are expected to get more than 20 hours a week on it, under a Community Use Agreement. The release does not say how those hours will be booked.

Councillor Frair Burgess, the council’s Executive Member for Leisure and Community, called it “a major investment in community sport”. Paul Kelly, the club’s chairman, said: “This investment is about far more than football. It is about creating a welcoming community hub that promotes health, inclusion and participation.”

Four months away from home

The first team has played its home games in Gosport since August. The club signed a ground share at Gosport Borough’s AEI Stadium, about five miles away, and its first match there was against Westfield on 8 August. The last of those “home away days” was on Saturday 10 October, against Ashford Town.

Timeline of AFC Portchester's 3G pitch project in 2026. 30 June: work starts to replace the grass pitch, 20 years to the day after the club signed its lease. 8 August: first home game at Gosport Borough's AEI Stadium. 31 August: over 4,000 tonnes of stone aggregate laid, drainage finished and floodlight poles raised. 10 October: last home game at Gosport, against Ashford Town. 22 October: open evening at Wicor Recreation Ground, 6.30pm to 8.30pm. 24 October: first match on the new pitch, against Bedfont Sports at 3pm.
Graphic by Fareham News. Sources: AFC Portchester club news and Fareham Borough Council.
Share this chartFacebookWhatsAppX

The club’s own updates show what went into the ground:

  • Work began on 30 June, which the club marked as 20 years to the day since it signed the lease on its patch of Wicor Recreation Ground.
  • By 31 August, more than 4,000 tonnes of stone aggregate had been laid as the base, needing “well over 100 lorry movements”. The drainage was finished, and the floodlight poles were raised because the new pitch sits slightly higher than the old grass, the club reported.
  • Around the pitch, the club listed new LED floodlights, a refurbished physio and medical room, refurbished seating, a new entrance and turnstile block, and a new stadium office and catering area.

The two cost figures cover different things. The council’s £1.1 million is for the pitch project. The club’s own updates describe the pitch and the stadium improvements together as “around £1.2m in total”.

What it means for you

  • To see the pitch before it opens, go to the open evening on Thursday 22 October, 6.30pm to 8.30pm, at The OnSite Group Stadium, Cranleigh Road, PO16 9DP. The council says residents, current users and their families are welcome.
  • To watch the first match, AFC Portchester play Bedfont Sports at 3pm on Saturday 24 October. Tickets are on the club’s fixtures page. The next home game is against Littlehampton at 7.45pm on Tuesday 3 November.
  • If you run a school team or community group, ask the club about the 20-plus hours a week of community use.
  • If you are driving that Saturday, Redlands Lane is due to close from 24 October. See our Fareham roadworks page and parking in Fareham.
  • AFC Portchester’s fireworks and laser show is at the stadium on Friday 6 November. Details are on our what’s on in Fareham page.

Sources