Leicester Community Sports Arena Grand Opening
28 January 2016
A new £4.8 million Leicester Community Sports Arena was unveiled on Wednesday 27 January in a grand opening ceremony.
The Arena will host the home basketball games for Leicester Riders and Leicester Cobras, as well as serving as a teaching venue for Leicester College’s sport provision.
Project Director for the Leicester Community Sports Arena, Kevin Routledge
said:
“We are absolutely delighted to be completing this Arena project a little ahead of the contract schedule. It is testament to the hard work of our contractors and key staff in the partners and funders – that the project has proceeded extremely efficiently. This Arena is undoubtedly going to be a major new asset to the sporting infrastructure of the city and county, as well as a fabulous new home for the Leicester Riders, and a facility that will enhance the experiences of Leicester College students and the wider Leicester Community.”
The Arena is the product of a five-way working relationship between Leicester Riders, Leicester College, Leicester City Council, Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP) and Sport England.
Leicester College has been looking to improve its sporting provision for a long time but faced a series of challenges before embarking on the collaborative project.
Director of Marketing and Communications, Claire Willis said:
“We have been looking at solutions to enhance our teaching facilities at Leicester College for a while. The facilities at the new Arena are going to be pivotal in helping every learner at the College reach their true potential and help provide the best teaching resources possible.”
The Leicester Community Sports Arena has demonstrated the benefits of working closely with various local organisations in order to combat obstacles and create a solution that will benefits the whole city.
The Arena will create over 20 new part and full-time jobs as well as a state of the art sports education venue for Leicester College.
The College is aiming to recruit 200 additional learners in the next five years as well as develop the skills of the current learners by providing better learning facilities.
There are also plans to introduce an enhanced sport academy model. Leicester College has a similar successful partnership with Leicester City Football Club, where it delivers a BTEC Level 3 Futsal Academy Programme in tandem with the club, providing the opportunity to combine academic studies with practical football experience.
Principal of Leicester College, Verity Hancock says:
“At Leicester College we are continuing to look for ways to provide the best teaching facilities for our learners and staff. By creating partnerships with organisations around the city, we have been able to share our resources and expertise, enabling us to grow our sport provision and provide fantastic learning facilities which will have a wider benefit to people across the local area.”