Netball champions 'excited' by sport campus plan

A top netball coach has said plans for a new sports campus linked to a major regeneration programme could help tackle one of the sport's biggest challenges, a lack of facilities.

In Oldham, the newly approved Mayoral Development Corporation could help deliver SportsTown, a proposed health, sport and education hub, which includes a 3,000 seater arena where Manchester Thunder could play.

It is among projects which are intended to drive investment and regeneration across the borough over the coming years.

Manchester Thunder's Karen Greig, said: "It definitely pricked our interest and we're excited to see if it's actually something that can happen."

The franchise director and head coach of the reigning Netball Super League champions said a lack of facilities remained one of the biggest barriers facing the sport.

"When you hear that there could be a facility being built that's local to us as a Super League team that holds the potential to be our home potentially and a home venue for matches in a really nice shiny new arena, then it's something that definitely pricked our interest," she said.

Greig said netball was thriving across Greater Manchester, with strong participation from grassroots level through to elite competition.

She said improved facilities would benefit not only professional players but also community clubs and young people progressing in the sport.

"It gives the athletes somewhere to go, somewhere where they can see that they can go and actually have quality facilities," she said.

Greig estimated tens of thousands of people play netball every week in Greater Manchester, with leagues and clubs active in boroughs including Oldham, Stockport and Bury.

"Some kids are playing three and four games a weekend," she said.

"The hunger for the sport is definitely here in our wider county."

Oldham's Mayoral Development Corporation is a partnership between Oldham Council and Greater Manchester Combined Authority and is designed to unlock investment and accelerate regeneration projects across the borough.

Its key focus will be on Health, Education and Sport.

SportsTown forms part of a wider programme that also includes town centre regeneration, new homes, heritage and cultural projects, and the next phase of Northern Roots.

Oldham Council Chief Executive, Shelley Kipling, said: "This is a hugely exciting moment for Oldham and another major step forward in our plans to build a better borough."

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