New Outdoor Games Area for Greater Easterhouse Gladiators
Greater Easterhouse sports and development project The Gladiators
will officially open its new multi-purpose all weather games area
on Thursday 12 August.
The new £103,000 games area, funded by Greater Easterhouse
Partnership (£40,000) and sportscotland (£63,000)
will provide top quality football, hockey, basketball and netball
facilities to children in the Greater Easterhouse area. The Gladiators
have also been awarded £53,000 from Children in Need to
support their play programme, helping to further develop its service
and offer more young people across Greater Easterhouse the opportunity
to get involved in an increasing range of sporting activities.
Alex Richardson, The Gladiators, Project Coordinator explained:
"The Gladiators programme initially aimed to encourage young
people into weightlifting, however, over the years we have broadened
the type of activities we are involved in to include football,
power training and general fitness. To date, many of our athletes
have gone on to compete and succeed at international level. In
a week we now typically engage with over 1000 school children
across Greater Easterhouse and provide an important first opportunity
for an increasing number of local young people to enter the leisure
industry as coaches.
Alex continued: “Having the new games area on our doorstep
is fantastic. It will enable us to offer more local young people
the chance to try even more new activities such as basketball
and hockey which we are hoping will also encourage more girls
to get active. We are extremely grateful for the support received
from Greater Easterhouse Partnership, sportscotland and Children
in Need.”
Alastair Dempster, Chairman, sportscotland added: “sportscotland
is delighted to have been part of this project, providing The
Gladiators with a brand new multi-purpose, all-weather games area,
with an award of £63,575 from the Lottery Fund’s Sports
Facilities Programme.
“No community should be denied access to sport as it makes
such a valuable contribution to our lives, both physically and
socially. This project is yet another example of sportscotland’s
commitment to providing quality, accessible facilities that introduce
more people to the fun and enjoyment sport can provide, helping
to create a healthier fitter Scotland.”
The new games area is but the latest in a host of other sport
and leisure investments in Greater Easterhouse driven by Greater
Easterhouse Partnership and developed in conjunction with Glasgow
City Council and sportscotland. These include:
• Lochend Pitches - State-of-the-art £2.1m sports
facility that has been strategically designed for use by students
at Lochend Community High School and the local community. Outdoor
facilities include a full size floodlit synthetic soccer/hockey
pitch, four grass football pitches, a rugby pitch, a 400m running
track, a 7-aside grass pitch, a floodlit multi purpose games area,
a blaes pitch and artificial cricket wicket. Indoor facilities
include a four court badminton hall and two one court badminton
gyms.
• Multi-purpose games courts – A further 9 top quality
outdoor multi-purpose games areas created for young people at
strategically placed sites across Greater Easterhouse.
• Football - Top quality facilities at Stepford Road that
are currently home ground to four teams.
Councillor Jim Coleman, Chair of Greater Easterhouse Partnership,
explained: "Greater Easterhouse Partnership is committed
to providing quality sports and leisure facilities in Greater
Easterhouse and to enhancing opportunity for young people. The
new games area is the result of continued positive relationships
with partners such as sportscotland and Children in Need. It offers
young people fun, healthy and positive alternatives to engaging
in anti-social behaviour. Importantly, it also gives local projects
the chance to deliver and develop services in the heart of the
community.”
CONTACT DETAILS
Jacqueline Mackenzie, Marketing & PR Officer, Greater Easterhouse
Partnership
Tel: 0141 771 9338. E-mail: jacquelinemackenzie@greatereasterhousepartnership.co.uk
NOTES
Greater Easterhouse Social Inclusion Partnership (SIP) is one
of the Scottish Executive’s SIPs and operates as one of
11 Partnerships in Glasgow within the Glasgow Alliance community
planning framework for the city.
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