We could have players at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles - but our club needs £250,000 first
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Those on Beech Road also have the proud title of the being the longest continuously-playing lacrosse club in the world. There are now however concerns for the future. Vital repairs are needed to the Victorian clubhouse roof it shares with Stockport cricket and bowls clubs at the facilities in Davenport.
The next Olympic Games will be significant for the sport as lacrosse returns for the first time since the 1940s. Los Angeles 2028 could see players who have developed their game at the Stockport club, including Mike Pomfret, Danny Hilditch and Jenni Aiton, take their place on the biggest sporting stage of all.
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Hide AdBut before then, a fundraising aim has been set by club officials to raise £250,000 within two years. If achieved, then the club’s future could be saved just months before lacrosse makes its long awaited return to the Olympic Games.


John Hilditch, Stockport cricket club secretary. and Vicky Bell who is chair of Stockport Lacrosse are two of many volunteers passionate about the club.
“We got the reports saying that we need to replace the roof, so we are starting to raise the funds ourselves,” John said. “We do already have our own funds because we look after the place, and there is essential maintenance all the time.
“What really shocked us was the actual cost of replacing it like for like, which is £300,000 if you include the VAT. That's what we are starting to raise now, we believe we have one or two years remaining to raise this, but we’ll be faced with increasing repair costs during this time.”
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Hide AdThe building has been a feature of this corner of Stockport for as long as the sports clubs have been there. The damage to the roof beams is widespread however.
“It’s a real concern to us, as it's the timbers that are degrading, this is what the tiles are attached to,” John said. “If they start rotting then they’ll start rotting the main timbers on the roof. We have a limited amount of time and we are approaching all areas of the community for support. We’ll be doing lots of things quite soon to make the public more aware of our plight.”


On the fundraising efforts, Vicky said: “We’re going to set up a GoFundMe page and I’m going to talk to the council to see what grants or funding we’ll be eligible for. I’ve asked for all of our teams to come up with team fundraising activities for us to do.”
John added that from the cricket side of the club, they too are asking around for grant eligibility, including going to the top of the game and talking to the England and Wales Cricket Board - but added that none of this would be large enough to cover the cost of the roof.
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Hide Ad“There’s also a fund from Manchester Airport because we’re in the flight path, and we could get up to £10,000 available there,” he added. “Ultimately, the members and volunteers will be actively working to raise and donate this money. There’s an awful lot of financial pressure on the members.
“A main concern is that the club will throw everything it can at it, and this will affect the maintenance of everything else. While we suck up every available penny to sort the roof, we’ve also got two tractors that are on their last legs and lots of other things that need replacing. It’s an ongoing battle as it is so we’ll be asking for help wherever we can.”


“That’s a really old challenge flag,” Vicky said, pointing up to a framed cloth flag that is the prize possession of the club and the sport. Winning flags has become a regular occurrence for Stockport Lacrosse Club, with the men's side winning no fewer than 25 over the years. In 2024, the club has 12 teams including three senior men's and one senior ladies team. Age groups start at under-11 and work through the pathway towards the seniors.
The club does a lot for the community, and John and Vicky talked about the ‘Beech Beats’ - named after the road where the club is located - which donates proceeds to a local organisation. Local schools also use the facilities at the club for free, adding to the strong reputation of the club being a real community-led asset.
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“We don’t operate for profit,” John said. “We’re a community asset sports club (CASC) which means from a financial perspective, any money we make goes into maintenance of the facility. We have a bar and function room and all of the money goes into local sport and giving local people opportunities to play and develop.”
Vicky said: “We are very much grassroots here, the lacrosse subs are very low. We can loan equipment to local kids just to get kids active and playing something. The Olympics will help with that, everything that becomes an Olympic sport usually always has a bounce afterwards of people wanting to try it. We saw it with women’s football which is on the rise, that was on the TV and the popularity grew. So the Olympics should help.”
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