Leigh Sports Village
Encyclopedia
Leigh Sports Village is an £50 million multi-use sports, retail and housing development in Leigh, Greater Manchester
, England. Leigh Sports Village plays host to three of the towns sporting clubs. Amateur rugby league club, Leigh East and amateur athletics club, Leigh Harriers occupy dedicated facilities on the site. Leigh Centurions Rugby League club is resident at the 11,000 capacity stadium.
Other facilities on site include the Leigh campus of Wigan & Leigh College, Leigh Sports Centre, which includes a gym, multi-use sports hall and swimming pool, and the Park Inn Hotel.
, close to Pennington Flash Country Park and accessed from the A579, Atherleigh Way and by pedestrian routes from the town and surrounding area. The scheme was initially developed to contribute to the regeneration of Leigh and provide modern facilities for local sports clubs, schools and the local community.
The main focus of the sports village is the 11,000 seat stadium built for local professional sports clubs and its associated facilities facilities. There is a 25 metre swimming pool, gymnasia and activity rooms and a sports hall used by the sports clubs, college and local community. A synthetic 400 metre running track, covered training facility and field sports area has been built for Leigh Harriers and Athletic Club and amateur rugby league club, Leigh East ARLFC has a clubhouse.
Leigh College occupy a site on the stadium perimeter and share sports and youth facilities. To make the project commercially viable, retail and commercial premises, housing and a hotel are built on the site close to Atherleigh Way.
Roads on the Sports Village site are named after three local sporting personalities, Tommy Sale, Jimmy Ledgard
and Geoff Turner.
The roads are Sale Way, home to the stadium, sixth form college and sports centre, Turner Way address of Leigh Harriers Athletics Club, whilst Ledgard Avenue accommodates the new Leigh East clubhouse.
After a successful first event, the crowd capacity was set at 4,775. A sell-out crowd of 4,714 saw Leigh
versus Salford
on 28 December 2008.
Leigh Sports Village was officially opened on Thursday 21 May 2009, by Her Majesty the Queen and HRH the Duke of Edinburgh.
Leigh Sports Village has been included in the London 2012 Pre-Games Training Camp Guide. The facility is now available for use by competing nations as a training camp before the London 2012 Olympic Games
. Officials have been in negotiations with the Ukrainian
Olympic team to bring the nations athletes to the Leigh Sport Village.
Leigh, Greater Manchester
Leigh is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It is southeast of Wigan, and west of Manchester. Leigh is situated on low lying land to the north west of Chat Moss....
, England. Leigh Sports Village plays host to three of the towns sporting clubs. Amateur rugby league club, Leigh East and amateur athletics club, Leigh Harriers occupy dedicated facilities on the site. Leigh Centurions Rugby League club is resident at the 11,000 capacity stadium.
Other facilities on site include the Leigh campus of Wigan & Leigh College, Leigh Sports Centre, which includes a gym, multi-use sports hall and swimming pool, and the Park Inn Hotel.
Backgound
Leigh Sports Village is a development southwest of Leigh town centre, on the north side of the Leigh arm of the Leeds and Liverpool CanalLeeds and Liverpool Canal
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , it crosses the Pennines, and includes 91 locks on the main line...
, close to Pennington Flash Country Park and accessed from the A579, Atherleigh Way and by pedestrian routes from the town and surrounding area. The scheme was initially developed to contribute to the regeneration of Leigh and provide modern facilities for local sports clubs, schools and the local community.
The main focus of the sports village is the 11,000 seat stadium built for local professional sports clubs and its associated facilities facilities. There is a 25 metre swimming pool, gymnasia and activity rooms and a sports hall used by the sports clubs, college and local community. A synthetic 400 metre running track, covered training facility and field sports area has been built for Leigh Harriers and Athletic Club and amateur rugby league club, Leigh East ARLFC has a clubhouse.
Leigh College occupy a site on the stadium perimeter and share sports and youth facilities. To make the project commercially viable, retail and commercial premises, housing and a hotel are built on the site close to Atherleigh Way.
Roads on the Sports Village site are named after three local sporting personalities, Tommy Sale, Jimmy Ledgard
Jimmy Ledgard
James "Jimmy" A. Ledgard was a Rugby League World Cup winning for; Dewsbury, Leigh, England, and Great Britain,He left Dewsbury for a record fee of £2,650 in January 1948, bought by Leigh, .Ledgard made 334 appearances for Leigh after joining the club from Dewsbury in 1948, scoring a record 1,043...
and Geoff Turner.
The roads are Sale Way, home to the stadium, sixth form college and sports centre, Turner Way address of Leigh Harriers Athletics Club, whilst Ledgard Avenue accommodates the new Leigh East clubhouse.
Stadium
Two ramp-up events were held during December 2008 to fulfil safety certificate requirements. A children's rugby league festival was held on 14 December 2008 as the first event, rescheduled from the previous week because of a frozen pitch.After a successful first event, the crowd capacity was set at 4,775. A sell-out crowd of 4,714 saw Leigh
Leigh Centurions
Leigh Centurions is an English professional rugby league club based in Leigh, Greater Manchester who play in the Co-operative Championship.The club was founded in 1878 as Leigh Rugby Football Club and is one of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in...
versus Salford
Salford City Reds
Salford City Reds are an English rugby league club based in Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1873, they currently play in the Super League. They have won six Rugby Football League Championships and one Challenge Cup...
on 28 December 2008.
Leigh Sports Village was officially opened on Thursday 21 May 2009, by Her Majesty the Queen and HRH the Duke of Edinburgh.
Leigh Sports Village has been included in the London 2012 Pre-Games Training Camp Guide. The facility is now available for use by competing nations as a training camp before the London 2012 Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
. Officials have been in negotiations with the Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
Olympic team to bring the nations athletes to the Leigh Sport Village.
Facilities
Facilities available at Leigh Sports Village include:- A multi-use 11,000 capacity outdoor stadiumStadiumA modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
with Desso GrassMasterDesso GrassMasterDesso GrassMaster is a sports playing field surface composed of natural grass combined with artificial fibres. The artificial grass fibres are injected deep, and cover about 3% of the surface. While the grass is growing, the roots intertwine with the artificial fibres...
pitch and under-pitch heating - 4 hospitality suites and 22 corporate boxes
- Leigh Indoor Sports Centre - A gymGymThe word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
nasium, 9 court sports hall and 25m 6 lane swimming pool - A 400 metre running track with 60m covered sprinting facility and club house
- Multi-use floodlit 3rd generation artificialArtificial turfArtificial turf is a surface manufactured from synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commercial applications as well...
and grass pitches - Sports pavilion
Site users and tenants
The site is operated by Leigh Sports Village Company Ltd on behalf of Wigan Council - owners of the stadium, athletic stadium and clubhouse, swimming pool and sports centre, rugby league clubhouse and 3G pitches. Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust operate Leigh Indoor Sports Centre. Along with general public, use of artificial and grass pitches, sports hall, gymnasium and swimming pool, the Leigh Sports Village site has several long term tenants.- Leigh CenturionsLeigh CenturionsLeigh Centurions is an English professional rugby league club based in Leigh, Greater Manchester who play in the Co-operative Championship.The club was founded in 1878 as Leigh Rugby Football Club and is one of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in...
rugby leagueRugby leagueRugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
club are tenants at the Stadium, Leigh Sports Village. - Leigh Harriers Athletic Club are the tenants of the Athletics facilities.
- Blackburn Rovers ReservesBlackburn Rovers F.C.Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
play home matches in the Barclays Premier Reserve League North at Leigh Sports Village Stadium, as of 2009 bringing their 9-year stay at Christie ParkChristie ParkChristie Park is a sportsground located in the Northern Suburbs Sydney suburb of Macquarie Park. Christie Park was the home to the now defunct Northern Spirit FC....
to an end. - Park Inn are the owners and operators of the hotel.