£4.6 million for new sports and events centre

The Lottery Sports Fund has made a grant of over £4.5 million towards the cost of building a new sports and events centre.

The centre will be the largest of its kind in the north-west. With seating for 3,000 spectators, it will be the premier indoor venue for sports events in Merseyside. It will be used by members of the local community, for regional special events and by students of the City of Liverpool Community College and the University of Liverpool.

The new centre will be built by the University, working in collaboration with the City of Liverpool Community College, the local community and Liverpool City Council. It will cost £6.204 million, which will be met by the grant of £4.653 million from the Lottery Sports Fund, £1.051 million raised by the University of Liverpool and £0.5 million from the City of Liverpool Community College. It will be built on land belonging to the University of Liverpool, in Grove Street, and is expected to be completed in 1999.

Professor David Brodie, who represents the University of Liverpool on the development consortium, said: 'This new centre will enable sportsmen and women from local clubs and sporting organisations to train and compete in a state-of-the-art building which will also be a venue for major sporting events in the region. It will meet a long-felt need in Merseyside and will be an important element in the development of sport and the enhancement of recreational opportunity in the region. The Lottery Sports Fund is to be congratulated for its vision in supporting this new centre.'

The new sports and events centre will have a 54 by 36 metres sports hall which can accommodate three basketball courts or 12 badminton courts, with seating for up to 3,000 spectators. Additional facilities will include a weight/resistance training room; a martial arts and table tennis room; a multi-purpose activity room; a fitness training studio; two squash courts and changing facilities for male, female and disabled users. There will also be a sports physiotherapy treatment room, a creche and a social area with bar and catering outlets. The centre will also have media facilities linked to the University's Television Service.

The multi-purpose centre will accommodate indoor court sports including basketball, handball, five-a-side football, indoor bowls, indoor hockey, indoor lacrosse, netball and volleyball. Activities for the disabled will include boccia, power lifting, table tennis and wheelchair basketball.

The centre will be both a community resource open to the public and the city's premier facility for sports competitions and special events. It will be equipped to host regional competitions and events, national league basketball matches and major gymnastic competitions. It will become the regional centre for sports development, recreation management and short courses on coach education. It will stage city-based national and international sports festivals.