Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Council on the ball with opening of new £8m football centre
Site was location of ‘Uvf-linked’ bonfire standoff in 2019
DARKER DAYS The 2019 bonfire
A NEW £8million football centre which is sure to score highly with soccer lovers was officially opened yesterday.
The state-of-the-art development replaces the former Avoniel Leisure Centre in East Belfast.
The area previously had limited access to football pitches.
The leisure centre was the site of a contentious standoff in July 2019.
A large bonfire, reportedly linked to the East Belfast UVF, was built in the car park.
Threats were made towards council contractors tasked with clearing the site before the bonfire was lit on the Eleventh Night.
The new Belfastcouncil facilities include an intermediate standard 3G football pitch and 240 covered seats for spectators.
There are three covered and two uncovered 3G five-a-side pitches, an outdoor 3G sevena-side pitch, multipurpose rooms, meeting rooms and changing facilities.
The football centre was officially opened by Belfast Lord Mayor Kate Nicholl and her special guest Mayor For The Day nine-year-old Ezinne Nwosu.
Ms Nicholl said: “This is a stunning new state-of-the-art facility which will play a huge part in improving the health and wellbeing of the local community.
“Our investment in new and upgraded leisure facilities in East Belfast alone totals £45 million.”
Avoniel will be run by GLL, the social enterprise which operates all Belfast City Council’s leisure centres under the Better brand.
At yesterday’s opening event they showcased all the outdoor and indoor spaces to guests with a range of sports on show.
Gareth Kirk, regional director of GLL, said: “We want to see the new Avoniel established as the go-to outdoor sports venue in the heart of the community in East Belfast. Already, we’re hitting almost 60% pitch occupancy during peak times and we believe this will continue to grow.”
Already we’re hitting almost 60% pitch occupancy GARETH KIRK GLL REGIONAL DIRECTOR