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Official opening event held at Dungiven Sports Centre

Official opening event held at Dungiven Sports Centre

Fri, January 26, 2018

An official opening event has been held at Dungiven Sports Centre.

The facility was completed earlier this year marking a new era for sport and leisure facilities in the village and surrounding areas.

The project received £2.5m from the former Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure while Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council contributed £339,000.

The official opening took place on Friday 26th January, with local schools and clubs showcasing a number of different sports and activities.

The Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, Councillor Joan Baird OBE, said: “The community in Dungiven is rightly proud of their state-of-the-art centre which is accessible to all and hosts a fantastic variety of classes, courses and clubs. 

As a Council, we want to promote healthy and engaged communities, and the enhanced facilities now available in Dungiven highlight our commitment to this.

“I would like to thank the Department for its significant contribution to this project, which is a successful example of working in partnership to bring about positive changes in our communities.”

Ian Snowden, Deputy Secretary at the Department for Communities said; “I am delighted that the Department was able to support the development of high quality indoor and outdoor facilities for sport and physical activity for the people of Dungiven and the surrounding area.

“This facility shows the significant benefits of collaboration, between local and central Government. Together, Causeway Coast and Glens Council, the Department for Communities and Sport NI have been able to deliver a top class facility for the local community.

“It is a priority of the Department for Communities to encourage greater participation in sport and physical activity across the whole population. This is being taken forward through ‘Sports Matters: The NI Strategy for Sport and Physical Recreation’.  The development of facilities such as this one, at grassroots levels in communities, is vital in opening up opportunities for participation to a wider number of people, many of whom would not have had these opportunities previously.”

Sport Northern Ireland Chief Executive Antoinette McKeown added:

“This excellent new Sports Centre will play a crucial role within the community by providing better and more inclusive opportunities for local clubs and the wider local population to enjoy, engage and excel in sport. Sport Northern Ireland is pleased to have collaborated with Causeway, Coast and Glens Borough Council and the Department for Communities on this project, and to have provided technical and project management support. It is wonderful to be marking the start of 2018 with the opening of this new facility and we look forward to seeing the impact it makes in helping people here get involved in sport and enjoy all the physical and mental health benefits of an active lifestyle”.

The complex, located on the Curragh Road, includes a range of indoor and outdoor facilities including a gym, sports hall, dance studio, changing rooms, a kitchen and a floodlit 3G pitch.

Anyone who would like to find out more should ring 028 7774 2074 or visit the Centre’s Facebook page.

Cutting the ribbon to officially open Dungiven Sports Centre are Rian O'Connor alongside Antoinette McKeown from Sport NI, Ian Snowden from Department for Communities and Alderman William King MBE, Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council Cara from St Canice's Primary School and Oisin from Gaelscoil Neachtain enjoy activities in the main hall during the official opening of Dungiven Sports Centre with Willie Devlin from Sport NI and Alderman William King from Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council.