FA Chairman unveils £1.5m sports pavilion development in Westminster.
The FA Chairman, Lord Triesman, kicked off celebrations at the official unveiling of a £1.5m refurbishment and extension to a sports pavilion in the heart of London this week.
Westminster City Council has extended the pavilion at Paddington Recreation Ground to double the number of changing rooms and create a resource room for schools, sport clubs and community groups to use for meetings, training and presentations.
A new quality accreditation for Westminster sports clubs was also launched at the event, with the first round of clubs receiving ActiveWestminster Mark status. The Mark rewards clubs with good standards of coaching and safety with discounts for use of the council’s sports facilities.
Speaking at the event, Lord Triesman said: "I'm delighted to be at the opening of this fantastic sports pavilion. Having grown up in London I know how priceless good sports facilities in the capital are.
“Millions of people will use Paddington Recreation Ground and this is a major reason as to why the Football Foundation have been able to contribute greatly to the refurbishment and extension here."
The Chairman was then given a tour of the pavilion and outdoor sports pitches that are benefiting from the £1.5m refurbishment – part of wider £4m phased improvements to the site.
Paul Thorogood, chief executive of the
Football Foundation, which provided £1m towards the pavilion extension, said: “Sport is playing a central role in helping people to stay fit, strengthen communities and promote responsibility amongst young people. It is thanks to the funding from our partners the Premier League, The FA and Government that the Football Foundation exists to support this type of excellent project in Westminster.”
David Kerrigan, head of sport, parks and leisure at Westminster City Council, said: “Paddington Recreation Ground is already renowned as one of London’s best sports facilities, with more than one million visitors every year. These improvements will ensure it goes from strength to strength.
“The pavilion extension will mean the world of difference to the many schools and clubs who use it with simple and practical improvements to provide lots of extra space for changing and a large room for clubs to use for awards nights and meetings.
“Together with the launch of our ActiveWestminster Mark, which recognises high standards among our local sports clubs, we are doing everything we can to galvanise interest and enthusiasm for sport in the city and make it as easy as possible for residents to get fit and have fun - and who knows maybe we will help create an Olympic champion in time for 2012.”
Improvements at Paddington Recreation Ground so far have included one full-size and two five-a-side synthetic pitches and floodlighting improvements. With the new state of the art pitches and changing facilities, the site will have one of the best football facilities in the capital.
Lord Triesman later presented eight of Westminster’s best sports clubs with certificates recognising their status as ActiveWestminster Mark clubs. These were: All Stars Boxing Club, Westminster Boating Base, basketball clubs the London Pioneers and Westminster Warriors, Paddington Recreation Ground Tennis, London Tigers football and multisports, Regent’s Park Cricket Club and Samba Soccer.