Yard Ball Sheffield: New £1m retro street football experience with unique crossbar challenge set to open soon

A retro street football experience which could be the beautiful game’s answer to crazy golf is set to open in Sheffield this summer.

Yard Ball, at the former Arnold Laver depot on Little London Road, Heeley, promises to transport visitors back to the days when ‘football was football’, with no goal music, no half-and-half scarves, and certainly no VAR. The £1 million-plus, 50,000 sqft venue will offer adults the chance to indulge in some sporting nostalgia, while youngsters will learn how the game used to be played.

Visitors will be able to take on a series of challenges at the retro-themed attraction, including attempting to find the ‘top bin’, like in Soccer AM, having a shoot-out against garage doors and practising their touch and finish as their friends throw balls down from the top floor of a purpose-built maisonette.

Sign up for newsletters from The Star There will also be a ‘new take’ on the crossbard challenge and players can test their aim by trying to hit strategically placed pub signs and dink balls into a bin chute or ice cream van.

Visitors will be able to refuel with food and drinks themed around fondly remembered football tournaments, like tacos inspired by Mexico ‘86, pizza and pasta to take diners back to Italia ‘90, and fish and chips to celebrate Euro ‘96.

Plans for the new attraction, on the same street as the popular Top Jump inflatable park, were approved in October last year. The venue’s website states that it is due to open this summer, with applications already open for a food and beverages manager.

A licensing application has now been submitted by Tekkers Leisure Limited, which is seeking permission to open from 9am until 11.30pm each day and to sell alcohol until 11pm.

When plans for the venue were first announced last year, Yard Ball said in a statement: “By stripping back football to what it should be – fun with a ball and your mates – Yard Ball will provide a much-needed escape from the pressures of modern-day football and provide new and exciting opportunities to create memories that will last a lifetime.”