COLWYN Bay could become the new home of Welsh hockey.
Eirias Park has made it onto a shortlist of sites being looked at by Hockey Wales, as a potential venue for a new national centre of excellence, complete with purpose-built pitch.
Already home to rugby in North Wales, Eirias Park recently hosted a successful outdoor concert featuring Olly Murs and Pixie Lott.
The hockey hub would provide a focal point for the sport in North Wales, with the potential to host both local and national tournaments as well as offering top quality training opportunities and a base for Hockey Wales’ 360 under 18s development programme.
John Hardy, sports and leisure manager at Eirias Park, said preliminary discussions had already taken place.
He said: “They’ve spoken to us, and will now go away and have a look at the options they’ve got.
“It’s very early days, and is something that they’re looking at as part of their national hockey facilities strategy. They’ve visited us and we’ve spoken about looking at developing a national centre of excellence here.
“We’re very keen to see it here. The centre at Eirias is designed to be a centre of excellence for sport, so we would really welcome it.”
Caroline Spanton, Head of Development for Hockey Wales, said: “We’re currently looking at various sites in North Wales where we can base one of our hockey hubs. We’re at a very early stage.
”We’re working in partnership with the Welsh Rugby Union and the Football Association of Wales to make sure that the best sites are available.
“We have a fantastic relationship with Glwyndwr University who host our performance squad, and we would love to branch out within Conwy.