The mass participation will focus on basketball and cricket, but not preclude other sports and will also offer the sports/community arena on commercial arrangements to generate income, that are good value to encourage high participation rates. The new sports hall development will also help LCCC drive cricket development, via the ECB’s Street chance development programme and provide The Leicester Riders basketball team with a physical location base and a sustainable model of basketball and the Club.

The Community Sports Arena will be located immediately next to the Mike Turner Cricket Centre, and physically interface with it, at the Hawkesbury Road end of the ground, near to Milligan Road.

The first drawing below shows the Arena in its normal mode, as an indoor sports hall, with 3 basketball courts marked out. It will be in this mode about 95% of the time it is opened.

The indoor area is equivalent to at least 12 badminton courts, and is the largest of its type in the city of Leicester.

The second drawing shows the venue in Events mode, with 2,000 seats, for major indoor sporting events, including Leicester Riders matches. There is also a viewing gallery running the length of the Arena, for corporate hospitality, TV cameras for televising games, etc. – designated the Long Room, which also has exceptional views of the cricket ground.

The third drawing shows the exact location of the Arena on the Grace Road site, which will have first and second floor connections into the Mike Turner Cricket Centre.

The Sports Facility consists of a modern, state of the art main sports hall, a fully furnished fitness suite with thirty stations for gym equipment, a dance studio/ancillary hall, conference room, changing rooms etc.

The sports hall itself has been designed to include a specially sprung wooden floor and accommodates sports such as Badminton, Volleyball, Basketball, Netball, 5 a-side football, cricket nets, and archery, ranging from community to international standards.

Over 200 students took part in the official opening in roles that included putting on a variety of sporting and dance displays and entertaining up to 60 guests HRH officially unveilled the plaque to open the Sports Centre. The Esher Army Cadets from 153 Detachment were also onsite to be inspected by and parade for HRH Duke of Kent KC.

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HM The Queen opening St.Johns Beaumont School, Old Windsor.

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HRH The Duke of Kent  opening Esher Church of England High School, Esher.

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Sir Bobby Robson Football Manager  opening Sutton Grammar School for Boys, Sutton.

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Harry Rednapp  Football Manager opening Parkstone Grammar School for Girls, Poole.

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Ade Adepitan GB Wheelchair Basketball star and BBC Paralympic Commentator  opening The University of East London.

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A.P.McCoy Champion Jockey and BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2011 Opening Newbury College, Newbury.

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Faye White England Womens Football Captain  opening Reigate College.

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Tessa Jowell  Olympic Sports Representative opening The Thomas Boteler School, Warrington.

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It will enable the prestigious school to deliver not only curriculum and examination sport but will offer an opportunity for the seeking of sporting excellence.

Riders’ Russell Levenston, Claire Willis, of Leicester College, and County’s Mike Siddall at Grace Road

Ball Hall, DMU Leicester Riders, Leicestershire County Cricket Club (LCCC) and Leicester College are pleased to announce that they are in the early stages of discussions about the possibility of building a multi-purpose community sports arena at the Bennett End of the County Cricket Ground, at Grace Road, Leicester.

Initial discussions with Leicester City Council have been positive, and a presentation was given to the Leicester Sports Partnership Board last week where the project was also well received.

Riders General Manager Russell Levenston, said: “We’re very excited about this potential project because it can be truly transformational.

“As well as providing a long term home for the Riders, we intend the venue to be a mass participation sports venue, focussed on the community. It also has the huge upside of improving immeasurably the sustainability of both our Clubs.”

LCCC Chief Executive Mike Siddall, said: “We are in the very early stages of discussions and there is a lot of work to be done. There is considerable synergy between the two Clubs and it is potentially a very exciting opportunity for Leicester and the local community, and a demonstrable Olympic legacy for the city.”

Claire Willis, Curriculum Area Manager for Hospitality and Leisure at Leicester College, added: “This is an excellent opportunity for the learners of Leicester College to have access to outstanding facilities and it reinforces an already strong partnership with the Riders, allowing for future partnership with LCCC.

“The project also endorses Sport England’s National Further Education Strategy; Growing Sport, Growing Colleges and as such the legacy of lifelong participation in sport.”

The Clubs and College are currently reviewing the proposals with designers, and expect to be in a position to provide further information in early December 2012.

Basketball and Volleyball are key activities and in addition to two match basketball and three match volleyball courts there is a “show court” for both with seating for 400 spectators.

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Good reason then for them to invest in top of the range specialist designed indoor facilities.

The latest, designed and project managed by sports hall market leaders, BALL HALL, has recently been completed at ACS Egham.

The sports hall is entered at first floor level onto a balcony running along two sides of the building and overlooking  an eight badminton court size area elastic sprung oak sports floor.

Basketball and Volleyball are key activities and in addition to two match basketball and three match volleyball courts there is a “show court” for both with seating for 400 spectators.

The hall can be divided into two full size basketball areas by the roof mounted, electrically operated dividing net.

This hall can be dramatically changed into a luxury conference, prize giving or end of year leaving ball  venue by fitting the giant carpet tiles, activating the huge screen and Audio- Visual equipment or erecting the integral Draping System (marquee)

The Climbing Chamber is a dedicated climbing area with “state of the art” mosaic 3D panels incorporating overhanging belay ledge and six climbing lines.

The Fitness Suite has highest grade cardio-vascular equipment with strength stations. It is fitted out with “Fitlynxx” computer connectivity to monitor training programmes which can be individually tailored to monitor student development.

The Dance Studio has an area elastic sprung floor and is very popular for all kinds of activities for the children right down to the age of three.

The needs of the specialist staff are catered for as there are four individual offices as well as a larger staff general office.

There are three large classrooms all fitted with A-V equipment.

Other amenities include four student and two staff changing rooms, a laundry room a kitchen and social area.

The Head of School Jeremy Lewis commented : “The opening of our new sports centre conveniently follows on the heels of the 2012 Olympics which have instigated a resurgence interest in sports across numerous disciplines. Our new facilities will enable us to maximise this interest to the long term well-being of our students whether it leads to an individual sport’s specialism, a wider career in sports science or training, or simply general well-being.”

Director of Sport, Bob Bulloch said “It was brilliant the way Ball Hall developed the design to feature all the different users”

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Champion Jockey and BBC TV Sports Personality of the Year 2010 opening the latest Ball Hall at Newbury College shown here with the Principal Dr Anne Murdoch OBE.

The Newbury College facility houses a four badminton court sports hall development with changing rooms and a 600 square metre brickwork and woodwork skills workshop along with an additional mezzanine floor giving 400 square metres of Art Gallery. Coming in incredibly at under £900 per square metres Dr.Murdoch admitted that though she had at first been rather doubtful at Ball Hall achieving this she had been proved wrong !

Carmelo Anthony, a member of the Men’s USA Basketball Team has cited the University of East London’s £21million SportsDock facility as being a major factor behind the team’s success to date so far in the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Speaking to UEL at a training session in SportsDock, Team USA’s training camp for the Olympics, he responded with his thoughts on whether the facility has helped influence the team’s success, he commented: “I would say big time; I didn’t realise that until now. When I was growing up, the training facilities were terrible. I think people really need to utilise this facility.”

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Sports Facilities Group are proud to be involved in the development of Nike’s most unique sport redevelopment projects to date – The Regal Basketball court at the Black Prince Community Hub. The dramatic transformation of this dedicated indoor basketball court is set to inspire and encourage basketball players from an elite level through to novices and new-comers at local schools and community clubs. As part of the World Basketball Festival celebrations in Brixton, on 30^th June 2012, Nike wanted to leave a lasting legacy for the sport in Lambeth, but with a very distinctive and inspiring twist.

The Regal Basketball Court, so named to signify its ambition to become the hub of British Basketball, is not only one of the most high-spec showcase courts in the UK, but also one of the most eye-catching. Unrecognisable following its overhaul, the brand-new Junckers press dried Beech floor, supplied by SFG is finished in distinctive black oil with HP Sport lacquer over the top and highlighted with basketball-only line markings and ‘The Regal’ brand identity in gold. At either end of the court hang the only gold plated hoops and smoked glass backboards in the UK. The court is also one of very few in the UK with integrated red LED lights that are linked to the scoreboard and shot clocks supplied by SFG – as seen at professional basketball games. The surrounding walls feature bespoke designed flock effect wallpaper with a subtle basketball motif, alongside a prominent motivational quote from Britain’s most successful basketball export, Luol Deng. The finishing touches include a display of ten unique basketball jerseys celebrating British and international heroes of the game as well as four practice backboards around the court.

Offering SFG’s ‘roll away’ seating for 160 spectators, the space has been designed as a dedicated basketball centre with the objective to grow the game in London and the UK. The renovation is just the first step – creating an impressive location to generate excitement and enthusiasm. However, to truly grow the game Nike has also invested in the appointment of a lead basketball coach to develop a yearlong programme of free-to-access clinics, events and training sessions for schools, clubs and the community. Junior Williams, himself a former England and Great Britain international, will shape the agenda and manage the facility.

Simon Charlesworth, brand lead for basketball Nike UK & Ireland said “we want to grow the game and what better way to do so than with an inspirational facility that is centrally located, undercover and most importantly that provides free access to London ballers.”