Friday 22 October 2010 saw a new million pound Sports Hub in Lincoln officially opened by Lincoln City’s new manager Steve Tilson.
The hub, at Yarborough Leisure Centre, is a state of the art, environmentally friendly building with changing rooms, training and social facilities. The hub provides facilities for the improved football pitches as well as the athletics facilities, cycle track and other seasonal sports.
The Sports Hub, has been built for around £1.1 million and is funded by the City of Lincoln Council (£807,000), the Football Foundation (£200,000) and Lincolnshire County Council (£99,990).
Councillor Alister Williams, Portfolio Holder for Health and Recreation at the council, joined Steve Tilson at the opening. Councillor Williams said: “The Sports Hub is something the city can be really proud of and is a sign of our commitment to help improve the health of the city, by providing better facilities that encourage people to get active.”
“The building offers excellent facilities to a range of clubs and teams and we would like to thank the Football Foundation and County Council for their support with this project. This will kick start work with the Football Foundation, Lincolnshire FA and the North Lindum Hawks, to implement a football development plan for the north of the city.”
Paul Thorogood, Chief Executive of the Football Foundation, said: “The fantastic new facilities at the Sports Hub will enable many more local people to play sport regularly. I congratulate the City of Lincoln Council and the Lincolnshire County FA for their hard work in making this happen. Across Lincolnshire alone the Foundation has supported nearly 200 projects worth over £20m thanks to funding from the Premier League, The FA, Government and Sport England.”
Members of local football club the North Lindum Hawks are delighted with the new facilities. Aeneas Richardson, Club Development Officer from the Hawks said: “The new Sports Hub is absolutely fantastic. Our young footballers still can’t believe how lucky they are to have such a high quality venue to use.
“The changing rooms are luxurious and the kids refer to it as their Wembley! We are so pleased to be a part of this project, and we’re sure that it will help the North Lindum Hawks increase its membership and develop football on the north side of Lincoln.”
Steve Tilson, the new manager of Lincoln City Football Club said:“This is a fantastic facility and I’m delighted to have been asked to officially open it. To have a venue like this on the doorstep is great for the local community and I’m sure it will bring many benefits for the people in the city.”
The Sports Hub is now available to a range of sports clubs and individuals wishing to train at top quality facilities, making this a really focus for sport in Lincoln. The facility will be managed by Active Nation who manage Yarborough Leisure Centre on behalf of the City of Lincoln Council. Bookings can be made by calling: 01522 873600.
