Bumping into local legends! I like these kind of jobs, the ones where you bump into local legends…..This was a great PR photoshoot with Ipswich Town Football Club legend George Burley as Guest of Honour at the official opening of the new 3G pitch at Bloomfields Stadium.
George Burley delighted the local community and fans with his friendly, low key appearance at the ceremony to mark the official opening of the new third generation (3G) artificial grass pitch (AGP) and adjoining community building at Needham Market FC on Saturday 27th July.
George signed autographs, spoke to the local fans and officials and gave live radio interviews to BBC Radio Suffolk ahead of the official ribbon cutting ceremony at Needham Market FC’s Bloomfield stadium. George and Jo Churchill MP conducted the opening ceremony along with club officials, coaches and players, followed by a showcase game of mixed players from Needham Market FC’s first team, reserves, academy and ladies teams.
The new 3G pitch and community centre will enable Needham Market FC to provide greater football and community services to the area, allowing greater inclusivity for disabled and women footballers and footballing partners in the area.
Made of longer synthetic grass the new pitch is more weather proof than previous generations of artificial turf, providing better grip and a superior playing surface and will be used by the Women’s Team, Junior and academy teams.
The new community facilities building and pitch were made possible by £472,792 grant from the Football Federation – funded by the Premier League, The FA and the government.
George Burley signs autographs for local fans
I was commissioned by Buildbase via their PR company Claret PR from Manchester to take PR images of the event for use in the press, social media and website and other marketing channels. This was part two of a two part job to take before and after photographs of the facilities. I had previously taken photographs back in the early spring of the ground before the community building and pitch were constructed.
