Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility
| Location | Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility Motherwell North Lanarkshire Scotland |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 55°47′37.03″N 3°57′48.68″W / 55.7936194°N 3.9635222°W |
| Owner | North Lanarkshire Leisure |
| Operator | Sportscotland |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 30 September 2010 |
| Construction cost | £30 Million (estimate) |
| Architect | Populous |
The Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility is a public leisure centre that is located in the Ravenscraig area of Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland.
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, which closed in 1992. The sports facility project was given the go-ahead on 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.
Some of the amenities that the facility includes are:
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.
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 also admitted in part one of his report of Scottish football that facilities like Ravenscraig are important for the future of the national game. Also, former Commonwealth Games gold medalist Yvonne Murray 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.
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