Garon Park
Garon Park is a recreational park located within the city of Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. The park is home to numerous sporting facilities including the Peter Butler Oval, a cricket ground used by Essex County Cricket Club, Southend Leisure & Tennis Centre and Garon Park Golf Complex. It is currently the home of Old Southendian Football Club, Old Southendian & Southchurch Cricket Club and Southend-on-Sea Athletic Club.
Background
[edit]The ground was named after the Garon family of Southend who were major retailers in the town for several generations.[1] Henry Garon had opened a chain of grocery & bakery shops, cinemas and banqueting suites at a time when rail travel to the town had started to bring in tourists from London. Norman Garon donated the land to the town.[2] Another member of the family, Percy Garon, was decorated for his efforts in World War 1 and awarded the George Medal during World War 2 for fighting fires across Essex. He became chairman of Southend Lifeboat Service and is remembered today by one of the services main boats being named after him.[3][4]
The Peter Butler Oval
[edit]The cricket ground was first used by the Essex County Cricket Club, 1st XI in 2005. The ground hosted two games in 2008, against Glamorgan in the County Championship and Northamptonshire in the Pro40 League.[5]
The ground has hosted 3 first-class matches and 4 List A matches.[6] The final match played by the first team was the Division Two County Championship match with Leicestershire in 2011.[7] The ground has since been used as an outground and home to the club’s Second XI, Women’s and Ability teams, and in 2022 was renamed the Peter Butler Oval, in remembrance to the former Essex County Cricket Club board member Peter Butler, who had passed away in November 2021.[8]
Game information
[edit]Game Type No. of Games County Championship Matches 4 Limited-over county matches 3 Twenty20 matches 0
Game statistics – first-class
[edit]Category Information Highest Team Score Essex (399 against Somerset) in 2006 Lowest Team Score Essex (88 against Gloucestershire) in 2007 Best Batting Performance Andy Flower (132 Runs for Essex against Durham) in 2005 Best Bowling Performance Steve Kirby (5/41 for Gloucestershire against Essex) in 2007 and Jonathan Lewis (5/41 for Gloucestershire against Essex) in 2007
Game statistics – one-day matches
[edit]Category Information Highest Team Score Essex (202/8 in 45 overs against Middlesex) in 2005 Lowest Team Score Middlesex (144 in 36.4 overs against Essex) in 2006 Best Batting Performance Paul Weekes (82 Runs for Middlesex against Essex) in 2005 Best Bowling Performance Heath Streak (4/39 for Warwickshire against Essex) in 2007
Southend Leisure & Tennis Centre
[edit]Garon Park | |
 | |
| Former names | The Francis Sports Ground |
|---|---|
| Location | Southend-on-Sea, England |
| Owner | Southend-on-Sea Borough Council |
| Operator | Fusion Lifestyle |
| Opened | March 1996 |
Garon Park | |
| |
| Location | Southend-on-Sea, England |
|---|---|
| Owner | Southend-on-Sea Borough Council |
| Operator | Fusion Lifestyle |
| Opened | 15 November 2010 |
Southend Leisure & Tennis Centre is a sports centre located in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. The centre was built in March 1996 and expanded in November 2010, adding Southend Swimming and Diving Centre to the site, with a new reception area linking the two centres together with self-swiping turnstiles. The site's main name remained as Southend Leisure & Tennis Centre with the addition of Southend Swimming and Diving Centre. The centre is also known as Garon Park, as the buildings sit within the park site. The centre is run by Fusion Lifestyle.[9]
Facilities
[edit]The Leisure Centre offers the following facilities:[10]
- Expressions Gym
- Group Fitness Studio
- Sauna, Steam Room & Spa
- 4 Indoor Tennis Courts
- 8 Court Sports Hall
- 2 Court Secondary Hall
- 3 Basketball Courts British Basketball League Standard
- Fully Flood-Lit:
- 8 lane Olympic size Athletics Track
- 4 Outdoor Tennis Courts
- 4 Outdoor Netball Courts
- Cappuccino Bar & Cafe
- Small Steps Day Nursery
- Function Rooms & Suites
- Spectator seating & Disabled access for:
- 25m Swimming Pool
- Fun Pool & Slide
- Olympic Diving Facility
Regular hosts
[edit]Each year, Southend Leisure & Tennis Centre hosts regular users and events:[11]
- The Olympic size Athletics Track has been the host for Southend-on-Sea Athletic Club since 1994. The track itself was refurbished in 2011.
- The 8 Court Main Hall hosts events such as wrestling and cage fighting events in the Ultimate Warrior Challenge.
- The centre was home to the British Basketball League team the Essex Pirates.
Olympic training ground
[edit]After resurfacing & refurbishment of the athletics track in 2011, the site was proposed to be used as an Olympic Training Ground for the London 2012 Summer Olympics in the following sports:[12]
- Athletics
- Basketball
- Diving
References
[edit]- ^ "Southend Timeline".
- ^ "Garon's Southend | Bygone Southend".
- ^ "Southend Timeline".
- ^ "Southend Lifeboat Website". Archived from the original on 28 May 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
- ^ "Garon Park | England | Cricket Grounds | ESPN Cricinfo". Cricinfo. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ^ "The Home of CricketArchive". 4 March 2016. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Essex slump to 144 all out at Southend as Leicestershire take control". The Guardian. 27 July 2011.
- ^ "Garon Park renamed The Peter Butler Oval". Essex Cricket. 2 June 2022.
- ^ "Southend Swimming & Diving Centre at Southend Leisure & Tennis Centre". southend-leisure.com. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
- ^ "Southend Leisure & Tennis Centre". leisurecentre.com. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
- ^ "Southend Leisure & Tennis Centre". leisurecentre.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
- ^ "London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games". southend.gov.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
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