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The official opening of the Ravenscraig Sports Facility was boosted by news that North Lanarkshire Leisure has reported record numbers of visitors to its centres.
The charitable sports trust, which runs leisure facilities on behalf of North Lanarkshire Council, has reported increased in attendances and customer income compared with last year.
Provost Tom Curley officially opened the stunning Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility on Thursday 17 February.
"The new facility has proven to be a real hit," said Provost Curley. "More than 100,000 people have used it since it opened to the public in September. And over 100 events have taken place, including judo, karate, athletics badminton gymnastics, handball, football, conferences and even a charity fun run in the football hall.
"Almost every SPL team has used the indoor football pitch - which came in really handy during the bad weather. And it's been used by rugby teams, including the Glasgow Warriors and Scotland U19 teams, hosted athletics events and was the venue for last month's the Lanarkshire Schools' Badminton championships."
Councillor Jim Logue, who chairs the trust, believes the opening of Ravenscraig is the latest highlight for the trust which has gone from strength to strength since it was launched in September 2006. He said: "The hard work being carried out by so many people together with the excellent facilities we are developing, like Ravenscraig, means sport has a bright future in North Lanarkshire.
"The figures speak for themselves - the formation of the sports trust has been a great success for people who live and work in North Lanarkshire.
"For example, we've seen a 60 per cent increase in customer income and reinvested £3.5m in our facilities.
"Our Access NL membership scheme is the biggest in Scotland with over 24,400 members. We are around £4m more efficient than in 2006 and our sickness levels have reduced."
The £32m complex, which was funded by North Lanarkshire Council, sportscotland and Ravenscraig Ltd, also boasts a thriving gymnastics club with hundreds of members, and each week more than 1,000 children take part in football.
The vast space of the centre features a football and sports hall with 400 spectator seats, full-size athletics hall featuring track and field event training areas, dance studios, interaction zones, a strength conditioning area, café and viewing gallery and an activity area for younger children.
Outside there is a third generation full-size synthetic floodlit football pitch which can also be used as three seven-a-side pitches; and six five-a-side third generation synthetic pitches.
Forming a critical part of the bespoke nature of the build was Ravenscraig's changing facilities, supplied and installed by sporta sponsor Craftsman Quality Lockers (CQL) in what was one of their largest ever orders at £150,000.
The official opening of the Ravenscraig Sports Facility was also used to mark the start of North Lanarkshire's year as European City of Sport.
The prestigious international award is for areas with fewer than 500,000 residents and recognises excellence in using sport to improve communities.
The inspection team from the European Capitals of Sport Association visited North Lanarkshire last year and were clearly impressed by what they saw.
Chairman of the Association, Gian Francesco Lupattelli, said: "The commitment to investment in sport and leisure is clear to see, not least through exciting initiatives like the Time Capsule, Broadwood and Ravenscraig.
"Both the council and North Lanarkshire Leisure clearly see sport and leisure as a way to regenerate areas and promote healthy lifestyles."
Just four years on from its launch, the charitable trust has reported an impressive 44% increase in customer attendances and increased income across its 18 leisure facilities.
Blane Dodds, Chief Executive of North Lanarkshire Leisure, and who represents all Sports Trusts in the UK on the Fitness Industry Association Board added: "We are committed to providing people with opportunities to enjoy a healthier lifestyle and enjoy the benefits in wellbeing that can bring.
"It's about delivering value for money for our customers, via the appropriate quality product and service, and communicating this effectively.
"We are not complacent however, this is an ongoing objective and whilst we have achieved much there is still a lot to do, and next year we plan to make major investments in Lochview Family Golf Centre and Golf Academy, Sir Matt Busby Sports Complex and Airdrie Leisure Centre."
In 2010 North Lanarkshire Leisure took on the running and management of the new £9m Broadwood Sports Facility in Cumbernauld.
Later this year Lanarkshire will host the 2011 International Children's Games which will see over 1,500 young athletes from around 80 countries competing in the 45th ICG Games.
The extensive portfolio of facilities operated by the trust will be further enhanced later this year when it becomes responsible for the management of the Time Capsule, Coatbridge.
Following an extensive £6.5million refurbishment of the leisure pool, it reopened recently as "Scotland's Waterpark". Star attractions include, the fantastic "Tornado Tantrum" flume and "Splash Down Island", an interactive play area with giant tipping bucket.
The improvements have been an instant hit with customers, maintaining the Time Capsule as one of the most popular attractions in Scotland.
Looking ahead to what promises to be an exciting time to be involved in health and exercise, Councillor Jim Logue said: "With the International Children's Games in 2011, London 2012 Olympics and the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games on the horizon, the next 10 years will be a golden decade for sport."
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