 | |
| Location | Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility Motherwell North Lanarkshire Scotland |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 55°47′37.03″N3°57′48.68″W / 55.7936194°N 3.9635222°W |
| Owner | North Lanarkshire Leisure [1] |
| Operator | Sportscotland |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 30 September 2010 |
| Construction cost | £30 Million (estimate) |
| Architect | Populous [2] |
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. [3] The sports facility project was given the go-ahead in November 2008. [4] Work on the new facility got underway in mid-2009. [5]
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. [6]
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. [7] [8]
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. [9]
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. [10] 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. [11] 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. [12] 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. [13] On 13 October 2011, over a year after opening, it was revealed that the facility had attracted over 500,000 people, [14] and by 27 June 2012, the visitor count had past the million mark. [15]
The facility is being strongly considered as a training facility for the 2012 Olympics in London and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. [16] Ravenscraig regional facility was also the main facility for the 2011 International Children's Games that took place in Lanarkshire, hosting the badminton and the athletics events. The facility has also been host to several major sporting events, such as the British Lightweight Boxing Title Fight and the Premier League Snooker tournament. [17] as well as several other events involving big names in British Sport. [18] In recent times, the facility has also been confirmed as one of six 2020 Football Performance Centres across Scotland. [19] On 27 June 2012, it was revealed that over 500 sporting events had been held in the facility. [15]
Other indoor football facilities in Scotland:
North Lanarkshire is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the north-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns, and villages. It also borders East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk, Stirling, South Lanarkshire, and West Lothian. The council area covers parts of the historic counties of Dunbartonshire, Lanarkshire, and Stirlingshire. The council is based in Motherwell.
Motherwell Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, which plays in the Scottish Premiership. Motherwell have not dropped out of the top-flight of Scottish football since 1985, and have lifted one trophy in that time – the Scottish Cup in 1991.
Motherwell is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarkshire, Motherwell is the headquarters for North Lanarkshire Council. Geographically the River Clyde separates Motherwell from Hamilton to the west whereas the South Calder Water separates Motherwell from Carfin to the north-east and New Stevenston and Bellshill towards the north.
Wishaw is a large town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, on the edge of the Clyde Valley, 15 miles (24 km) south-east of Glasgow city centre. The Burgh of Wishaw was formed in 1855 within Lanarkshire. It formed a joint large burgh with its neighbour Motherwell from 1920 until its dissolution when Scottish local authorities were restructured in 1975, and was then in Motherwell district within the Strathclyde region until 1996. The town is part of the Motherwell and Wishaw constituency. It has the postal code of ML2 and the dialling code 01698.
Carluke is a town that lies in the heart of the Lanarkshire countryside in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, 4+3⁄4 miles northwest of Lanark and 4+1⁄4 mi (7 km) southeast of Wishaw.
Motherwell and Wishaw is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1974, mostly from the former Motherwell constituency. In 1983, it was split into two constituencies, Motherwell North and Motherwell South; but these were amalgamated in 1997 to recreate the old Motherwell and Wishaw constituency.
Motherwell and Wishaw is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering part of the council area of North Lanarkshire. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality method of election. It is also one of nine constituencies in the Central Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
Ravenscraig is a village and new town, located in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, around 1+1⁄2 miles east of Motherwell. Ravenscraig was formerly the site of Ravenscraig steelworks; once the largest hot strip steel mill in western Europe, the steelworks closed in 1992, and is now almost totally demolished.
Craigneuk is a suburb of Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The original village of Craigneuk was located in the area where Meadowhead Road meets the A721 at Craigneuk Street. It was originally part of Dalziel parish, along with the other rural weaving villages of Flemington, Motherwell and Windmillhill. Craigneuk village was located close to the boundary with Cambusnethan parish.
Muirhouse is a residential suburb in the south-east of Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland, coming under the Motherwell South East & Ravenscraig council ward and bordering the Flemington neighbourhood in the town, plus the Craigneuk and Netherton areas of Wishaw. It consists of thirteen tower blocks, amidst low rise flats and numerous houses.
Dalziel Park is an area located between the villages of Carfin, Cleland and Newarthill in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. Other nearby settlements include the large town of Motherwell and the new town of Ravenscraig. The area consists of a residential estate, a sports facility, a golf course and a clubhouse. It is also used as the home venue for the local rugby team Dalziel, as well as the training ground for the local professional football team Motherwell.
Clare Anne AdamsonFBCS is a Scottish politician who has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Motherwell and Wishaw since 2016. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she was previously an additional MSP for the Central Scotland region from 2011 to 2016.
Elections to North Lanarkshire Council were held on 3 May 2012 on the same day as the 31 other local authorities in Scotland. The election used the twenty wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with 70 Councillors being elected. Each ward elected either 3 or 4 members, using the STV electoral system.
Caledonian Braves Football Club is a Scottish semi-professional football club based in North Lanarkshire. They are members of the Lowland Football League, in the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system.
Oriam is Scotland's national performance centre for sport, based at Heriot-Watt University's Riccarton campus in Edinburgh. The Scottish Rugby Union and the Scottish Football Association use it as a training facility, Heart of Midlothian F.C. rent the centre for first-team training and to run their academy. It is also used by other sports teams, students and members of the public.
Toryglen Regional Football Centre is a facility for football in the Toryglen area of Glasgow, Scotland. The complex was completed in 2009 and is situated close to the national stadium, Hampden Park.
Motherwell South East and Ravenscraig is one of the twenty-one wards used to elect members of the North Lanarkshire Council. It elects four councillors and covers much of the town of Motherwell, as well as Craigneuk and Wishawhill in Wishaw, with a population of 18,497 in 2019; created in 2007, its boundaries remained unchanged in a 2017 national review.
Motherwell Civic Centre is a municipal building in Windmillhill Street in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The building, which is the headquarters of North Lanarkshire Council, is a Category B listed building.
Meghan Gallacher is a British politician who has served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservatives since 2022. She has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Central Scotland region since 2021. Gallacher was a councillor for the Motherwell West ward from 2017 to 2022, serving as the Conservatives party's group leader in the North Lanarkshire Council.
