Minister opens £6.7m "Olympic" centre at Durham University (From The Northern Echo)

Minister opens £6.7m "Olympic" centre at Durham University

8:00am Wednesday 22nd February 2012 in Durham City News By Mark Tallentire

THE Olympics minister opened a £6.7m sports centre in the North- East yesterday, hailed as further cementing the London games’ lasting legacy for the region.

Hugh Robertson, the Minister for Sport and the Olympics, said the rowing, fencing and cricket centre at Durham University would serve sporting stars and amateurs and increase sporting participation in the region.

“Durham University has a strong sporting tradition and this new state-of-the-art centre will help confirm this in the years ahead.

“This fantastic centre will provide world-class sports facilities for elite athletes and community users alike and help more people to take up sport,” the Conservative MP said.

The Graham Sports Centre, in Maiden Castle, near Durham City, has a £1m powered indoor rowing tank, the third of its kind in the UK and the first in the North of England. There is a new boathouse, where former GB Olympian Wade Hall-Craggs will coach.

There is also the country’s only world-class standard fencing facility, an expanded sports hall, creating space for more indoor cricket training, which has a range of surfaces and bowling machines, a performance analysis suite, three physiotherapy rooms, a dance studio, exercise bikes and rowing machines.

The project received £500,000 from Sport England’s Iconic Facilities fund, part of the £135m People Places Play Olympic legacy programme.

Professor Chris Higgins, vicechancellor of Durham University, said: “This is another monumental year of sporting achievement at Durham University and we are immensely proud to be able to contribute to the sporting legacy of the Olympics 2012 through the opening of these new facilities.”

Charles Johnston, Sport England’s property director, said: “With a rich heritage of participation both within the university and the wider community, it’s fantastic to see Durham University build on this with the Graham Sports Centre.

“With funding from the Iconic Facilities fund, this state-of-theart facility is helping us bring the inspiration and magic of a home Olympics into communities in the North and deliver a lasting legacy beyond London 2012.”

Columbian and Sri Lankan Olympian athletes will be training at the sports centre ,in Maiden Castle, in preparation for London 2012.