Sports clubs encouraged to bid for £10 million Olympic legacy funding
Published on: 2nd February 2012
Sport England Chair Richard Lewis and Sports Minister Hugh Robertson today urged local community sports groups to bid for Olympic legacy funding to upgrade their facilities as they launched a £10 million National Lottery investment round.
The Inspired Facilities fund is part of the Places People Play legacy programme that is bringing the magic of a home Olympic and Paralympic Games into communities across the country. All funded projects will carry the London 2012 Inspire mark - celebrating the link to the Games.
Investment is available to breathe new life into tired facilities that can be unattractive to sports participants, expensive to run and difficult to maintain, putting these clubs right back at the heart of their local communities. There is also money available to convert existing buildings into venues that are suitable for grassroots sport. Sports groups can find out more and bid from today at www.sportengland.org/inspiredfacilities.
Richard Lewis said: "We want people all over England to be able to look back on 2012 as the year when their local sports facilities got better, as well as the year the Games came to our country. This could be the chance for your sports club to be part of the Olympic legacy."
Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and the Olympics, said: "The Inspired Facilities programme is helping to improve and upgrade grassroots sports facilities up and down the country as a result of the government's lottery reform and London 2012. I encourage any local community sports clubs that want to improve to apply for funding. These grants can make a big difference in modernising sports provision and giving facilities a new lease of life."
This is the second funding round of Inspired Facilities. In round one, 350 local projects successfully applied for a share of £17.4 million of investment. These investments included:
* £46,000 to buy a new permanent home for a boxing club in Oxford that was at risk of being closed down
* £50,000 to replace the roof at Worcester Citizens' Swimming Pool which currently has a number of serious leaks that were threatening its future
* £50,000 to upgrade a 35-year-old clubhouse at Great Eccleston cricket club in Preston, including disabled access with changing and toilet facilities.
Places People Play is being delivered by Sport England. We are working in partnership with the British Olympic Association (BOA) and the British Paralympic Association (BPA) with the backing of The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and the London 2012 Inspire mark.
LOCOG Chair, Seb Coe, said: "This is a fantastic funding project that will deliver a real legacy from the London 2012 Games. It will provide a whole range of sporting opportunities for young people through improved facilities and will I hope inspire them to take up sport."
