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A new Regional Athletics Hub has opened in Limerick and is set to elevate the standard of athletes training and competing in the city.
The facility, which is located in Newcastle West, includes an eight-lane synthetic international standard athletics track with a surrounding walking track.
Works have provided floodlighting and public lighting of the facilities, car parking, roads and a services building.
At the Regional Athletics Hub there are dedicated areas for sporting activities such as shot put, discus, long jump and high jump.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: "This is an incredible facility for the community which will benefit existing athletes, and encourage many more people to get involved in sport. Physical activity and sport should be open to everyone, no matter their age, background, or personal circumstances, so the Government has invested more than €1 million in this Limerick Regional Athletics Hub.
"Limerick has an outstanding sporting tradition, most recently with local athlete Sarah Lavin breaking the national 100m record in Switzerland, and I know this hub will help to produce many excellent athletes for the future."
The project received funding of €1,256,27 under the Department's Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF).
Catherine Martin TD, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media stated: "This is a transformational project for athletics in the Limerick region and I wish to congratulate the entire community and all the project partners on the opening of the new regional athletics hub. I have no doubt that this facility will be a valued resource which will promote health and fitness for all ages and abilities for many years to come. Irish athletes thrilled audiences at the World Athletics Championship in Budapest recently, reminding us that sport is a critical part of our individual, community and national life. Our ambition is to see more and more Irish athletes compete at the highest level in sport, and investment in this new facility will support that goal into the future."
