Stamford Rugby Club celebrates official opening of refurbished clubhouse at Hambleton Road

A sports club wants its refurbished home to be an asset for the community after the completion of a £650,000 upgrade.

Stamford Rugby Club hosted a bumper weekend of rugby to bookend the official opening of its refurbished clubhouse on Saturday.

The day kicked off with the Laurie Mills Touch Rugby Tournament on Saturday morning, in memory of its former junior player, followed by the official opening before the senior men’s teams hosted league matches.

There was junior rugby on Sunday morning, including a taster event for girls, before a little slice of history was made as Stamford fielded two women’s teams at home for the first time.

Club members raised almost half of the money for the project which was completed over the summer.

As well as a revamped clubhouse, the Hambleton Road HQ now has upgraded changing rooms and floodlights.

“It marks not the end, but a period of investment for the club,” said club president Nigel Parkinson

“There's always more you'd like to do, but for the money we had to spend and the time we had to do it in, we’re absolutely delighted with the outcome.”

The club is riding the crest of a wave, with success on the pitch and off it.

The men’s first team reached a Twickenham final and won promotion last season, while its women’s teams also had league success.

“The overall aim is we're really trying to build a strong community through rugby,” Nigel added.

“Our age groups are really blossoming, and with girls’ rugby coming on stream as well, it's exciting times.

“It's a little unusual because a lot of other rugby clubs are struggling, so it's good to be bucking the trend.

“We're close to 1,000 members now and we hope to go over 1,000 by the time the season really gets under way.”

The club had initially wanted a new purpose-built clubhouse.

But spiralling post-Covid costs and the risk of missing the time limit on section 106 funding, awarded to the club from development in the north of Stamford, persuaded them to scale back plans.

However, the new layout includes a separate room which can be used by community groups and charities.

“We've got a perfect clubhouse to see us forward and we're hoping it's going to be an asset that the local community can use,” said Nigel.

“The refurbishment of the clubhouse creates a platform for us to do more for other parts of the community which would be fantastic.”

* Meanwhile, there have been changes for another town rugby club.

Stamford College Old Boys last month moved to a new home at Uffington Road Playing Field after signing a joint 40-year lease with Stamford Town Cricket Club.

The Old Boys, who previously trained and hosted home matches at Stamford Welland Academy, play in Counties 3 Midlands East (South North) division.