Work is nearing completion on the redevelopment of the Newforge Sports Centre which is due to open in the coming months in South Belfast.
The Shared Space Newforge Project has seen the former police sports centre transformed into a new facility that will be open to all communities in Northern Ireland, with there already being a lot of excitement among local sports teams eager to use the venue.
The £12 million redevelopment will see the creation of a new sports hub at Newforge that will feature a new state-of-the-art gym and multi-purpose rooms, changing facilities and medical rooms, which are due to be finished next month.
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This will be joined to a new sports hall that is currently under construction and expected to be completed prior to the summer.
The works have also seen the creation of a new 3G pitch for football, rugby and Gaelic games.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Newforge Chief Executive Alistair McGowan and sports manager Kelly Stewart said they were very excited to open the new facility and that there was already a lot of interest in it from clubs, teams and community groups across Belfast.
Kelly Stewart said: "We are looking forward to officially opening our new centre in the coming months and there is already a lot of excitement brewing among local sports teams and clubs who are eager to get using our facilities.
"The final bit of work is being carried out on the main centre which is due to open in February, and it has been designed to offer state-of-the-art gym and training facilities with a focus on accessibility for all so that anyone of any ability will be able to use it.
"The main sports hall, which will be equipped for everything from basketball tournaments to futsal, is still a few months away from being completed, but we are hoping that it will be fully open to the public before the summer.
"Our new 3G pitches have been finished for a number of months now and are already being used for training and events, with the Ulster Rugby team and NI Women's Team being just a few of the teams who have been using them."
Alistair McGowan said that Newforge were keen to highlight that the facility is fully open to all of the public and going forward it will have a strong focus on cross-community development and promoting the centre as a shared space for all.
He said: "We have turned what was a very restricted site, that was really just for police back in the bad old days in the 80s into a completely new shared space and we welcome people from all communities everywhere, it is a neutral space for people to come and enjoy sports.
"We have got a whole load of outdoor pitches, a 4g pitch, hockey pitches, 5-a-side, bowls, and we also have a new gym facility and an indoor sports arena for basketball or netball and is completely for community use.
"There has been an investment of roughly £12 million, some of which has been funded by us and we have received other funding from the EU Shared Space fund and Sports NI, and I have been delighted that they have been able to support us.
"The sports pitches are now open, and have been for the last nine months, and the gym and the meeting room space is due to open in a month's time, with the new sports arena hopefully being open by Easter at the latest.
"So far we have got great interest from netball, basketball and futsal teams, right through to jujitsu. It is a massive big open space that will be heated as well along with having bleacher seats so that when people come to watch sports like basketball, it is not going to be stone cold. We will also be able to facilitate everything from grassroots sports to those of a higher level.
"It is really just a community space for any clubs who want to use it and anyone who is interested we would be delighted to talk to them."
The redevelopment of Newforge has been funded through a €5.8m grant from the European Union’s PEACE IV Programme, which is managed by the Special EU Programmes Body. Match-funding for this element was provided by the Department for Communities, Northern Ireland and the Department of Rural and Community Development, Ireland. An additional source of funding, totalling £1m, was provided through Sport NI’s Multi-Facility Fund.
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