Major new £15m sports hub to be given final green light

Senior councillors are expected to give approval to appoint an agreed contractor to complete the work which will deliver top-class sports pitches and a new community space.

With work expected to start in August 2026, Holbeck Sports Hub will provide three full-size artificial grass football pitches, two multi-use games areas and a building with changing rooms and a café.

The hub is set to be built at the site of the former Matthew Murray High School with the ambition to also provide a new home to a GP surgery. This would contribute to the wide-ranging health and wellbeing benefits that the development will bring for local residents.

Other elements of the development include a children’s play area and walking and running routes through the green space which sits off Brown Lane East and Ingram Road.

The new all-weather pitches will provide sustainable, high-quality training facilities to reduce the impact on grass pitches and help overcome the shortfall of over 20 all-weather pitches across the city.

The Holbeck hub is the third in Leeds to be delivered in partnership with the Football Foundation as part of their national Parklife programme. It follows Woodhall in Calverley which is set to be completed for the 2026/27 playing season, and Green Park in Temple Newsam where work is starting this year.

All three hubs will be managed by the National Football Trust which is a not-for-profit organisation, with all surplus income generated to be reinvested into both the council’s and other third party-owned outdoor sports facilities.

Councillor Salma Arif, Leeds City Council’s executive member for adult social care, active lifestyles and culture, said: “We look forward to the work starting on the Holbeck Sports Hub, which will be a significant asset to the local community and residents in south Leeds.

“It will provide affordable and accessible quality sports pitches, providing more opportunities for physical activity and play and spaces to meet up and connect.

“We are also working towards an agreement with a GP practice so that the area can benefit from new high-quality healthcare provision to meet the needs of the community.”

The programme is joint funded by the Football Foundation and Leeds City Council capital funding.

Read the full report at Council and democracy (Agenda item 12).

ENDS