New Lerwick 3G pitch set to be formally opened this week

10 December 2025 14:42

An empty outdoor sports field with artificial turf, surrounded by a black fence, with buildings and hills in the background under a cloudy sky.

The new 3G pitch in Lerwick. Photo: SIC

THE NEW 3G football and rugby pitch in Lerwick is set to be formally opened on Friday.

School groups will be among the first to get a go on the all-weather facility, which has been called North Loch pitch.

The pitch will be opened by councillor Davie Sandison alongside representatives from the Scottish Football Association and Scottish Rugby, as well as local clubs.

Pupils from Bells Brae and Sound primary schools, and the Anderson High School, will then have the chance to play some small-sided games on the surface.

The new all-weather pitch will allow for year-round use for football and rugby, for both training and matches, and has cost £1.46 million.

Construction began in April after concerns about the previous pitch, which was prone to flooding and drainage issues, and had no floodlighting.

The pitch is now certified to both the FIFA quality mark for football and to World Rugby requirements, for rugby matches and training. Councillors agreed in December 2024 to fund the project, with £690,000 coming from the SIC.

A large amount of funding came from external sources, with Scottish Football Association providing £500k, sportscotland £200k and Scottish Rugby Union giving £50,000.

Both Shetland Football and Shetland Rugby provided £10,000 each.

Sandison, who is the chairman of the education and families committee, said he was “really pleased” to see the pitch complete and ready to be used.

“I’d like to thank all those partners who have contributed funding towards the project, and all those who have been involved in the planning, design and construction,” he said.

“I really hope that this new pitch will contribute to keeping more people more active, and will help the sports groups who use it to thrive.”

Scottish Football Association’s north manager Graeme Sutherland added that the pitch “adds an excellent sporting asset to the impressive facilities already available in Shetland”.

And sportscotland chief executive Forbes Dunlop said it would be a “significant development for sport in Shetland”.

The opening of the pitch will take place at 11.15am on Friday, with members of the public invited to attend.