New booking system in place at Sunderland's Beacon of Light

In partnership with SportsKey, a sports facility management company, Beacon of Light is bringing customers “a much-improved online experience when booking football pitches and hiring events space” than previously.

Over 5,000 people visit the Beacon each week to make use of its outdoor 3G pitches, indoor arena and 4G indoor barn. Among the sports on offer are football, netball, badminton and table tennis.

The new booking platform will make it much easier for customers to reserve their spaces.

New features will allow customers to see a full online calendar, block book up to 10 weeks in advance and take advantage of a new “waiting list” feature, where a customer will be notified should a time slot they prefer become available.

Customers can also create an account to manage bookings, payments and preferences online, which had not been available previously.

The Beacon of Light opened beside the Stadium of Light in 2018.

It was the first community hub of its kind in the UK, providing opportunities to people of all ages and abilities. It is a space for sports, events, education and wellbeing. It is also open to everyone from all backgrounds.

General manager Jemma Dowson said: “We want to make it as easy as possible for people to enjoy the Beacon of Light facility.

“The new booking system provided by SportsKey does just that, in making the venue much more accessible to customers through its mobile responsive platform and much slicker booking process.

“The new ‘watch a slot’ feature will prove very popular for peak times especially for in-demand areas like to rooftop pitch.”

Hugh Gill of SportsKey said: “We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Beacon of Light to help increase community access to their sports facilities.”

All proceeds from Beacon of Light bookings are donated back to the Sunderland AFC’s official charity, Foundation of Light, to support families across the region who need are struggling with the current cost of living crisis. Bookings can be made through SportsKey’s website.