The Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility is a public

leisure centre A leisure centre in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia (also called aquatic centres), Singapore and Canada is a purpose-built building or site, usually owned and operated by the city, borough council or municipal district council, where people ...

that is located in the

Ravenscraig Ravenscraig is a village and new town, located in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, around 1½ miles east of Motherwell. Ravenscraig was formerly the site of Ravenscraig steelworks; once the largest hot strip steel mill in western Europe, the st ...

area of

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

, North Lanarkshire, Scotland.

History

The sports facility first came to attention when plans were being drawn up to form a new town on the site of the former

Ravenscraig steelworks The Ravenscraig steelworks, operated by Colvilles and from 1967 by British Steel Corporation, consisted of an integrated iron and steel works and a hot strip steel mill. They were located in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. Motherwell ...

, which closed in 1992. The sports facility project was given the go-ahead in November 2008. Work on the new facility got underway in mid-2009. However, the project was at the centre of serious funding issues between different companies and councils, and thus delayed the beginning of construction by one year. The building has been fully completed and was opened to the public on 4 October 2010. Before opening, there was a 24-hour charity football event on 30 September 2010. On 16 February 2011, Provost Tom Curley officially opened the facility, and it was estimated that over 100,000 people had used the facility for the first five months in operation.

Facilities

Some of the amenities that the facility includes are: * Full size indoor 3rd generation

synthetic Synthetic things are composed of multiple parts, often with the implication that they are artificial. In particular, 'synthetic' may refer to: Science * Synthetic chemical or compound, produced by the process of chemical synthesis * Synthetic o ...

football pitch with spectator seating (

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

2 star standard) * 135m indoor athletics track with throws and jump areas, including

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

, long jump, triple jump and pole vault. Also included is a throw cage suitable for

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and discus. * Strength and conditioning area based within the athletics hall containing 5

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weightlifting platforms. * 9 court badminton sports hall with sprung flooring and spectator seating * Fitness gym * Full-size outdoor 3rd generation synthetic football/rugby pitch (FIFA 2 star standard) * Six five-a-side 3rd generation synthetic floodlit football pitches * Two dance studios with sprung flooring *

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cafe * Sports injuries clinic *

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area * Office facilities and meeting rooms There is also a jogging track completely surrounding the building that connects with the wider network of cycling and jogging paths throughout Ravenscraig and beyond. A mobile tennis court has been added for indoor and outdoor use, the first of its type in the UK.

Praise

The facility has, even before opening, received several positive commendations. One in particular was from the Scottish football team manager Craig Levein, who said that the facility would benefit football and the local community. Former First Minister

Henry McLeish Henry Baird McLeish (born 15 June 1948) is a Scottish politician, author and academic who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2000 to 2001. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Central Fife from ...

also admitted in part one of his report of

Scottish football Association football ( sco, fitbaa, gd, ball-coise) is one of the national sports of Scotland and the most popular sport in the country. There is a long tradition of "football" games in Orkney, Lewis and southern Scotland, especially the Scot ...

that facilities like Ravenscraig are important for the future of the national game. Also, former Commonwealth Games gold medalist

Yvonne Murray Yvonne Carole Grace Murray-Mooney (née Murray, born 4 October 1964), is a Scottish former middle-distance and long-distance track and road-running athlete. She won a bronze medal in the 3000 metres at the 1988 Oly ...

says that the facility will benefit sport in Scotland, saying that it will boost the nations medal tally. In June 2011, First Minister Alex Salmond praised the facility, admitting that it will deliver a real and lasting legacy for Scotland and North Lanarkshire. On 13 October 2011, over a year after opening, it was revealed that the facility had attracted over 500,000 people, and by 27 June 2012, the visitor count had past the million mark.

Major events

The facility is being strongly considered as a training facility for the

2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in London and the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

in Glasgow. Ravenscraig regional facility was also the main facility for the 2011 International Children's Games that took place in Lanarkshire, hosting the badminton and the athletics events. The facility has also been host to several major sporting events, such as the British Lightweight Boxing Title Fight and the Premier League Snooker tournament. as well as several other events involving big names in British Sport. In recent times, the facility has also been confirmed as one of six 2020 Football Performance Centres across Scotland. On 27 June 2012, it was revealed that over 500 sporting events had been held in the facility.

References

External links