Derry City & Strabane District Council has received an investment of £1,845,000 through Sport NI’s National Lottery funded Multi Facility Fund.
Melvin Sports Complex in Strabane is set to benefit from a dedicated boxing facility and multi-use three-court sports hall which will also accommodate gymnastics. The project will also deliver new changing accommodation, changing places facility and extra storage.
Sport NI’s Multi Facility Fund, made possible thanks to National Lottery players, provides investment to create multi facility environments (with a mixture of indoor and/or outdoor provision) creating more opportunities for community participation in sport.
Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has welcomed the £1.8M National Lottery investment into the Melvin Sports Complex for the community across Strabane. Minister Lyons said: “This significant Lottery investment will create a fantastic community facility and will play an important role in helping more people to be more active, more often.”
Sport NI Interim CEO, Richard Archibald said: “At Sport NI we believe in the power of sport to change lives and our National Lottery funded Multi-Facility Fund is helping councils like Derry City and Strabane maximise sporting opportunities for local communities.
“Thanks to this investment, the Melvin Sports Complex will become a community hub for sport, providing more opportunities for sports clubs, community groups, youth groups, schools and residents from across Strabane to participate in sport and physical activity.”
Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Councillor Lilian Seenoi Barr said:
“It’s wonderful to see an investment like this coming to Melvin Sports Complex in Strabane.
“An investment in Melvin is an investment in the community of Strabane who use this centre regularly. We know that encouraging people to get more involved in sports brings a huge benefit to their physical and mental health and participating in group settings enhances those benefits even further.
“This new facility has been designed to be fully inclusive and I know the Strabane community will be very much looking forward to seeing it open and available for everyone in the town to use.”
Sport NI has worked closely with Derry City & Strabane District Council and Disability Sport Northern Ireland to ensure the design is fully inclusive for people with disabilities and meets the requirements of the Inclusive Sports Facility Accreditation.
This project is made possible thanks to National Lottery players, who raise over £30m for good causes every week.