Expansion plans for community facility.
Local community enterprise The Pioneer Group has confirmed the appointment of Dave Travers as the new Stadium Manager at Castle Vale Stadium.
Dave started his new role on 14th March with the task to lead on the day to day management of the newly refurbished Castle Vale Football Stadium, function room and the surrounding sites. With a primary focus on managing and growing bookings for the pitches and function room, he also has exciting plans to create a full schedule of outdoor activities run by a variety of community groups, including fun days, car boot sales and charity days.
An engineer for thirty years, Dave (pictured) says that he has always been “football mad since he first walked”, and has managed various football teams since his playing career ended.
Originally from Minworth, Travers has played and managed on nearly every football ground in Birmingham. In 2015, he had the opportunity along with four other directors to manage Boldmere St Michaels Football Club. Together, they secured £450,000 of investment and transformed the ground into a successful asset for the community. Dave now plans to use his experience to strengthen Castle Vale Stadium and ensure that its potential is realised.
Talking about his appointment, he commented: “I am excited to be driving the re-invigoration of Castle Vale Stadium. The site has a huge amount of potential and having grown up in this area, it has always been a vision of mine to get involved and improve the facilities for the community.
“By broadening the scope of delivery and focusing on growth activities, it is our aim to ensure the facility is a popular asset to the community and flourishing venue for the people of Castle Vale.”
Due to the recent pandemic of the coronavirus, Travers first duty as Stadium Manager was to temporarily close the facility in line with government guidance. However, this didn’t stop him getting immersed in his new role.
Dave started by using the lockdown period to contact as many users as possible to gather feedback on priorities and concerns. From here, Dave reviewed and refreshed the stadium’s processes and policies to improve the customer experience for all teams and clubs. One example of this is the new, stream-lined booking service. The new system now provides a full availability schedule including kick-off times, ensuring all teams can reserve their slots effectively.
Further sport and funding options are also being looked into with views to expanding the function for wider members of the local area.
Lisa Martinali, Community Regeneration Director for The Pioneer Group, concluded: “Dave has extensive knowledge of football pitches and stadia and has a clear strategic plan for our facility. We are thrilled to welcome him into this journey, and support our organisation in providing a welcoming and thriving space for the community.”
The stadium hosts several local teams and clubs, including Castle Vale Town FC, Romulus FC, Birmingham Primary Schools, Castle Vale Olympic FC, CV Concords and Greenwood Academy. The facilities have also been used by a range of teams across the wider Birmingham area and even professional clubs such as Manchester United FC (Ladies) and Bolton Wanders.
As of Monday 29th June limited external activities on the pitches, such as training and coaching sessions, are now proceeding with controls in place. External areas are currently only accessible with limited numbers and controls in place. The team is working on the reopening of areas such as the bar and changing rooms in line with government guidance and shall announce updates within due course.
For any enquiries regarding Castle Vale Stadium, please contact Dave Travers on contactus@castlevalestadium.co.uk.