NI boss helps open Lisburn’s Football Factory

NORTHERN Ireland manager Michael O’Neill was the special guest at the officially opening of the £1m third generation outdoor Football Factory at Lisburn Leisureplex.

The Football Factory was opened by Lisburn City Council Mayor, Councillor Brian Heading; Chairman of the Leisure Services Committee, Councillor Thomas Beckett and Michael O’Neill.

The Football Factory pitches offer state-of-the art artificial grass fibres which are suitable for all-year outdoor football and the facility can accommodate 5-aside and 7-aside football.

The project has taken some six months to complete.

The Mayor, Cllr Heading, said: “We are delighted Michael O’Neill was able to be with us for this opening, and we are very pleased to see local schools and disability groups attending today’s official opening and trying out the pitches.

“It is very important to see Lisburn City Council adding to its sporting offer for our customers. Football is very popular here, as it is all over the country, and we are pleased to be able to offer all our users this facility which has been built and finished to the highest standards.”

Councillor Thomas Beckett said: “The pitches themselves are housed in individual cages and we have seven cages which can operate individually at any one time. We hope to see tournaments and competitions take place in the Football Factory and to encourage children and young people to get involved in everything the Lagan Valley LeisurePlex has to offer.

“This is a substantial project, costing £1m. The Council is progressive in investing in its leisure provision offer and to date the feedback from our users has been extremely positive. As the City of Lisburn grows so must the provision of our services. I was delighted to welcome Michael O’Neill as our special guest, we really could not have wished for anyone more suitable to see what we have to offer here in Lisburn City.

“I would also like to thank all the people who worked on this project for all their support in seeing it through to completion and hope our customers enjoy the Football Factory,” concluded Councillor Beckett.

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