Valentine Sports Park Upgrade Featuring PILA's Stadium Football Goal Posts

Valentine Sports Park Upgrade Featuring PILA's Stadium Football Goal Posts

As preferred supplier of Football Goal Posts to Football NSW, PILA sport has been the sole supplier of goal posts and coaches boxes for their Valentine Sports Park redevelopment.

Valentine Sports Park

Valentine Sports Park is the headquarters for Football NSW and its "Home of Football" based in Sydney's northwest. After receiving a $5 million grant from the NSW State Government in 2012 towards the $22 million project, construction began in 2013, with the finishing touches just being completed. The facility now boasts 2 FIFA approved synthetic fields, 2 standard natural fields and an international standard stadium surfaced showpiece field, along with administrative buildings, specialised facilities and upgraded accommodation.

PILA Products at Valentine

In line with Football NSW's requirements, PILA supplied Stadium Football Goal Post Packages and Coaches Boxes for the synthetic surfaced Fields 2 and 3 as well as Field 1, their primary natural field. For Fields 4 and 5, the other natural fields, PILA supplied Senior Semi-Permanent Football Goal Posts.

• Stadium Benefits

PILA pioneered and is the only manufacturer and supplier of Stadium Football Goal Posts in Australia, providing elite competition goal post package suitable for televised games. The unique base frame of the Stadium Goals offers several benefits, particularly for synthetic surfaces:

nets attach to the base frame - no need for pegs to hold the nets down

base frame hinges up and locks into upright position for easy field maintenance

Additionally the package includes the finest nets available plus black free-hanging net supports.

• Coaches Boxes

The sleek design of PILA's Coaches Boxes was the perfect fit for the style of the upgraded modern surrounds at Valentine. They are designed with fully enclosed back wall, sides and roof to offer maximum weather protection and are a secure, bolted-down semi-permanent structure.

World Class Facilities

According to Football NSW's CEO, Eddie Moore, "Valentine Sports Park will serve the local community by offering a state of the art facility for sporting community and cultural events", with kids, coaches, parents and elite youth given access to a standard of facilities previously reserved for the top tier professionals.

Team Work

PILA's staff have been very hands-on with this project, with Managing Director, Reece Wooldridge overseeing the installation of all products and several team members involved in various stages of the project. PILA worked closely with HG Sports Turf, who we also partnered with on the Hunter Stadium project, to ensure that the products were properly installed for the different surfaces.

Grassroots Football

The grant provided by the NSW State Government was the biggest investment in grassroots football in NSW with demands for greater investment across all codes. PILA is passionate about sport and recognises the inherent value of supporting and developing grassroots football, which is why we manufacture a full range of goal posts from Futsal and Junior Football to Stadium Goals, providing goal posts to fit in with any budget.

The Grand Opening of Valentine Sports Park happens this weekend and Football NSW's Kyle Maher has assured us that the goals are "looking great"! Let the experts at PILA help you with your next goal post project no matter how big or small.

‘Post’ Christmas Reminiscing - English Football, Goal Post Crossbars and Tim Cahill

PILA's guest blogger, Craig Kahlefeldt, shares his experience of an Arsenal game in England and Per Mertesacker hitting the goal post's crossbar.

Anyone who has had the pleasure of spending Christmas in England will know that the whole place is abuzz, everyone it seems is holding out with anticipation for the big day. Whether it’s because you get to wear the tackiest Christmas jumper and nobody cares because everyone wears one or because you get to throw down a few pints at the local before rushing home to the most amazing dinner of all dinners, I’m not quite sure but even the die-hard football fans are in a good mood at Christmas.

I was the fortunate guest of my English brother-in-law at an Arsenal English Premier League home game at the amazing Emirates Stadium against Newcastle. My other brother‐in‐law was there too and we’re both Chelsea supporters for the record so to be honest we were feeling a little nervous walking into enemy territory. We both made a concise effort to hide our Chelsea loyalty so it was quickly assumed we were part of the Arsenal faithful and seemed safe. Guys were walking passed tipping their hat and we even got a quick nod of the head from one guy with a “you alright, let’s go Arsenal”.

As someone who has attended countless AFL matches involving old enemies Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon and Richmond, I was almost speechless as to how happy the crowd was. Was it because there is only one little group of opposition supporters tucked away in a far corner or was it perhaps that the festive spirit was alive and well? Whatever the reason, I was impressed and totally fine with being an Arsenal fan for just one night!

8 minutes in however when Arsenal's giant German Per Mertesacker hit the football goal post's crossbar with a header from a corner cross, I forgot I was a happy Arsenal supporter and became one of those annoyingly passionate Aussies - just for a moment it took me straight back to Tim Cahill's World Cup ‘goal for the ages’ against The Netherlands when his left foot strike crashed into the net after smashing off the crossbar.

Thankfully I managed to gather myself and for the record it was a  long night in front of the goal posts for the visitors as Arsenal piled on  4 goals to Newcastle's 1. Call it Aussie pride but I can’t help but think our Timmy would’ve made it 5 –1!

Fastest Net Attachment System for Football Goal Posts Thanks to PILA

Set-up duty can be the worst job to volunteer for at your football (soccer) club. Having to attach nets to the goal posts at both ends, and possibly on several sets of goals, is fiddly and tiresome - no wonder many people resort to using ugly strapping tape or zip-ties that permanently mark your goal posts and leave them looking worn! While organisations like Football NSW, FFA and FIFA recommend using net clips as a safe option, it has previously been a time-consuming chore, and many clubs complained about clip breakage. PILA has responded to this market feedback and has designed an advanced range of net clips that will make your job incredibly easy!

Extruded Net Track System

PILA’s custom net track system for football goal posts allows the nets to be attached by UV stabilised plastic clips into a recessed track. This keeps players safe from making contact with harmful protrusions. Yet users still cringed at the task of attaching the clips and nets before and after each game, so we set about designing a clip that was quick and easy to click in and out every time.

Faster Net Clip Solution

To address this, PILA has introduced new durable UV stabilised plastic net clips that are designed to be attached and removed faster and easier - just push and turn to safely and securely lock the clips and nets in place. It's even faster than using tape or zip-ties! No need for special tools, complicated instructions or sore fingers - even older kids can do it. Now there’s a thought parents!

New Nets

To team up with our new net clips, PILA has also introduced a higher quality of nets to suit our goal posts. We now offer Club nets as a great all-round, everyday use and cost-effective net, and Competition nets that are premium quality and suitable for the most elite level. We also have a budget range of training nets at great prices.

While safety is the most important aspect you should consider when choosing football goal posts, you also want a practical solution that makes life easier for everyone. Now you can have the safest football goal posts with the fastest net attachment system and avoid ruining your goals by using inappropriate forms of net attachment thanks to PILA's improved net clips.

Contact PILA for specs and prices on 13 7452 or info@pilagroup.com.au

Blackman Park Project Features PILA’s Goal Posts on Synthetic Surface at Lane Cove West

Synthetic surface playing fields are growing in popularity and demand due to their longevity and usability even in wet weather. Installation of synthetic surfaced fields also increases the number of hours that the fields can be accessed by local sporting clubs as they do not wear out, making them the equivalent of 2 or 3 grass fields which can only be used up to 30 hours per week.  

The Blackman Park Project

A notable example is the recent upgrade to Blackman Park in Lane Cove West, a former landfill site that was subject to ongoing settlement. The official opening of the brand new synthetic sporting fields was held on Saturday 29 November. With representatives from the Waratahs, Sydney Swans and GWS Giants, it was a spectacular event as the community came together to celebrate this landmark.

Synthetic Surface Construction

Team Sports were contracted to install a synthetic playing surface over a concrete support slab to stabilise the ground. They engineered a solution that includes piled footings between 10m and 28m deep for the concrete support slab with a subsurface drainage system above the concrete slab for collection and disposal of stormwater from the playing field. The concrete was then overlaid with synthetic surface ‘Hybrid 60’ with a shock pad which meets the requirements of the ‘One Turf’ concept comprising FIFA, IRB and AFL/CA. The upgrade has resulted in a 18,600m² area accommodating 2 soccer/rugby fields and one AFL field.

Installing Goal Posts on Synthetic

Not wanting to compromise the integrity of the synthetic surface, Team Sports turned to PILA as they are familiar with our market leading products and customisation. PILA’s National Sales Manager, Shaun Groves, emphasised that “PILA is able to customise our goal posts to suit the surface and adapt to the logistical challenges within the site”. To protect the synthetic surface, the footings, hinge bases and ground sleeves of the goal posts need to work perfectly with the system used for the field. PILA sport has extensive experience working with the turf industry on both natural and synthetic fields. The Blackman Park project was another opportunity to demonstrate our versatility, providing 12m/8m Competition level AFL goal posts, 2 sets of 12m Competition level rugby union/league goal posts, and 2 sets of senior semi-permanent football (soccer) goal posts with off-field storage.

Praise for the Fields

A few sporting teams received a taste of the fields before its official opening including Lane Cove’s AFL9s joined by AFL legends Jude Bolton and Kevin Sheedy. Kevin Sheedy AM, a Richmond Tigers legend and current director at GWS Giants, praised the fields: “This is one of the best venues I’ve seen for sport, and I think it’s terrific that it supports so many sports, this place will bring a lot of people together”. Deputy Mayor Deborah Hutchens and Wayne Rylands, Executive Manager for Open Space and Urban Services, were integral in the implementation of the project, with both ‘astonished’ at the speed of construction of the synthetic turf, completed just over 18 months after council gave it the green light.

Whether you’re installing new goal posts on a natural or synthetic surface, PILA can provide the best products, advice and service. Contact us on 13 PILA (13 7452) or email info@pilasport.com.au