It’s a homecoming weekend for Hollands & Blair.

The Southern Counties East side will be hosting a match on the new 3G pitch at Star Meadow for the first time when they take on Deal Town.

It’s a big day for the team and a huge moment for the club, says chairman Paul Piggott, having also agreed a 10-year lease with the ground’s owners before the end of 2022.

“It's just a massive opportunity for the football club to now kick on and progress,” said Mr Piggott.

“It is almost like moving to a new ground - although it is our home and we have always classed it as our home - but what the owners have done and the investment they have made in the place, the turnaround has been massive, not just the football pitch itself but the surroundings around the pitch, it is great.

“I love the place anyway but people now want to be there, all of our kids are up there training, kids playing on it, it just brings a hub for the club, it is great going forward and is only going to help the football club massively.

“(A new lease) was massive for us. From day one the new owners (Invictus Sports Group) said we were part of the long-term and they have given us a 10-year lease, sticking by their word, which is brilliant for us. We haven’t got to worry about that for the next 10 years now and we can build our future with our youth football playing here.”

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Blair will be sharing the pitch facilities with Soccer Elite FA and Mr Piggott is thrilled that they now have a place that the whole club can call home, bringing in their youth teams to train and play at Star Meadow.

Mr Piggott said: “Last Saturday we had four of our youth teams playing all at one time, as a chairman standing and watching it was brilliant.

“Three quarters of the mums and dads and kids at our football club have probably never been to our home ground, we play at various schools and facilities around Gillingham and Medway and they have never had a reason to come to the football club, but now they can come with their kids for training, now they will see what Hollands & Blair Football Club are all about and see the first team and where it plays.

"All of a sudden there is now a hub, somewhere for these children to see where they can progress to, rather than just hearing about it.”

Junior matches have already been played on the pitch in the build-up to the grand opening while SEFA opened up their facilities to the community this half-term week, for free, allowing school-aged kids in to enjoy playing on the FIFA-graded artificial surface.

Fellow SCEFL side Lordswood have played host the Blair this season while the ground renovations were taking place and it’s been a longer-than-expected stay. Works were delayed from last spring, eventually starting in October.

“We are eternally grateful to Lordswood,” said the Blair chairman. “I am not sure what we would have done otherwise. We reached out for their help and they have been great for us.

“But getting back to the ‘The Gas’ is where we want to be as a first team, I think we probably underestimated how much it can affect the football team, not being at your home. Everyone is excited to be back, from the manager to the players and the supporters, we can’t wait!”

There are still some jobs to be done, none bigger than installing a new stand, which will replace the seated structure that had to be taken down for the ground works to take place. Fans have donated money to build a new one - named in honour of club stalwart Laurence Plummer - and Blair have applied for a grant to help.

“It was second hand when we got it and it more or less fell down when we moved it,” Mr Piggott said. “Plum was our main man and a lasting legacy of his was the stand named after him and that is my next goal now, to get that stand up in honour of his name. We need it anyway for the level of football we are at.”

The Southern Counties East league have given the club some leeway, allowing them to return to Star Meadow on the premise that a seated area will be coming back and some snagging dealt with.

“The league have been great,” said the chairman. “We are one or two things short of what we should have to be at our level but the league have worked with us. We have assured them we will have it all done by the summer, and we will, we have enough people at the club prepared to help.

“We couldn’t have asked for much more help from Lordswood, the league, from everyone, they have see what we have had to do and they have been great."

The club’s community day on Saturday kicks off at 8.45am as Soccer Elite FA and Hollands & Blair’s pre-academy sessions take place, followed by mini soccer matches from 10am. SEFA’s under-16s have a JPL match at 11.30am before the main event at 3pm when Blair take on Deal Town in the SCEFL Premier Division. Live music from Jamie E will be followed by a DJ SBB. There is hot food and a bar available all day

“I don’t want it all to be about the homecoming, ultimately we are there for football and we want three points, that’s for sure!” added the chairman.