A new multi-use games area in has opened in Mansfield.

The sports facility at Bull Farm Park, off Stacey Road, has football goal posts and basketball hoops, as well as line markings for cricket. It replaces a multi-use games area (MUGA) that had been adapted from two unused tennis courts.

Local resident Charlie Johnson (15) has been playing basketball for two years and his dream is to turn professional.

He and fellow Mansfield Patriots player Tyrese Cooke (15), who has been playing for about six months, practice there most days.

Charlie said: “The old backboards were breaking and the ball didn’t bounce very well on the rough ground. This surface is a billion times better — it’s ideal for shooting practice and I’d spend all day, every day, here if I could.”

Parks development officer Andy Chambers with Coun Andy Burgin, portfolio holder for leisure and environment; Coun Sonya Ward; and local residents at the new multi-use games area at Bull Farm Park, Mansfield.

The park already has a toddler play area, bowls green, full-sized football pitch, and skate park.

Coun Sonya Ward, member for Bull Farm and Pleasley Hill, who was instrumental in involving local residents in the planned improvements, said: “Thanks to everyone who provided their views on what they’d like during the initial consultation we now have this brilliant facility, which will bring hours of enjoyment to people of all ages. It’s great to see it being so well used already.”

The games area was funded by £57,500 in developer contributions received from new housing at Pleasley Hill.

It has four wide entrances that mean it can be easily accessed by everyone, including those who use wheelchairs.

The new games area is part of a wider project to improve the range of equipment aimed at older children and teenagers at Bull Farm Park and Woburn Road. New play equipment, which will further enhance the toddler play areas on each site, is expected to be installed in time for the school summer holidays.