Motherwell Football Club Community Trust officially opened Fir Park Training Centre on Monday.
The official unveiling of the rejuvenated facility, located directly behind the John Hunter Stand at Fir Park, welcomed leading community officials including North Lanarkshire Council Provost Kenneth Duffy.
“We’re absolutely delighted to have the official opening of our training centre,” Motherwell FC Community Trust CEO Dawn Middleton emphasised.
“This was quite a long-term project and we’re incredibly grateful to the Scottish Government’s Regeneration Capital Grant Fund which we secured through North Lanarkshire Council, and the Scottish Football Association’s DCMS levelling up Facilities Fund which enabled us to fully fund the project.
“We only have this one chance to get everything in place, and it means that this is now a top-class training facility which gives so much more to our community teams, the projects we deliver and the local community in Motherwell.
“It’s an area where people can come without feeling the imposing buildings of a stadium, but this new facility, still within the footprint of Fir Park offers them that opportunity to come into a safe space where they’ll be welcomed and there are staff and projects to support them.”
The development of Fir Park Training Centre was funded by the Scottish Government’s Regeneration Capital Grant Funding to the tune of £215,000 with match funding, including £190,000 from the Scottish FA’s DCMS Facilities Fund, bringing the total project to just over £500,000.
The existing synthetic surface was upgraded with a new shock pad and top-quality playing surface, including new 5-, 7-, 9- and 11-a-side goals.
“Motherwell Football Club Community Trust play an absolute incredible role within the local area,” North Lanarkshire Council Provost Kenneth Duffy added.
“They do projects tackling loneliness, poverty, and inequalities in their community and these new facilities go a long way in helping improve those outcomes.
“Motherwell Football Club sit in a league of their own when it comes to community empowerment. The team here do an incredible job day in day out and we’re very lucky to have them.”
Around the pitch ball stop nets were installed along with spectator fencing to reduce incursion to the new surface.
Two brand-new storage containers were also placed at one side of the Fir Park Training Centre enabling the Community Trust to deliver a series of programmes within the ‘Well Hub’ and “Coaching Hub” facilities.
“We were absolutely delighted to have the Provost Kenneth Duffy along,” Dawn Middleton noted.
“He has been a long-term supporter of our work and has been a fantastic asset to the local authority, so to have his recognition of what we’ve built and what we’re developing for our people, that’s huge for us and it means so much that he took time out of a very busy schedule to come along and see what we do.”
The new Hubs will provide accessible facilities, with the main Trust offices being located on the top floor of the Cooper Stand. The new facility is a welcome addition and provides a fantastic facility for community teams and programmes.
“We’re absolutely delighted,” Kris Wales, Scottish FA Club Services Project Co-ordinator explained.
“It’s a brilliant facility, one we’re delighted to be able to support through funding and investment with the Scottish FA and it encapsulates exactly what the grassroots pitch and facilities fund is all about.
“The facilities funding has provided areas like Motherwell with an opportunity to provide football activity that can become the heart of a community. To be able to have that opportunity to invest in facilities is something that is incredibly important to us at the Scottish FA.
“Investment for us is about enhancing that power of football and to be able to invest into those community football spaces to provide areas for people of all ages to be part of something throughout the community. This is absolutely key to everything we’re trying to achieve within the Association.”
“Every time I come out here, there are changes and development,” Alan Morgan, Scottish FA Central Region Manager supported.
“It’s great to see how the investment we’re putting in turns into more participation of people using the facility. We’ve been on a journey within the Scottish FA for many years now to try to support and develop our clubs to be the heartbeat of the community and have that identity.
“Without a good facility that is not possible, so as we try to support the clubs on that journey, the facility development becomes really important as well.”
