Football star opens Dunoon pitch

Thursday 14 June 2002

This Saturday, Dunoon welcomes home Stewart Houston, former star of Manchester United and Scotland and Assistant Manager of Arsenal, to cut the ribbon to officially open the all-weather multipurpose synthetic grass playing field for Cowal.

"This is a prime example of partnership working."

The £150,000 project, supported by an award of £99,238 from the sportscotland Lottery Fund, has been achieved through a close working partnership between Argyll and Bute Council, the sportscotland Lottery Fund and the local community.

The ceremony will be the advent of an important all year facility for the community which should have considerable impact on sporting opportunities for the locality. It is anticipated that one in 15 people will use the 72mx36m field for a variety of sports including shinty, football, hockey and basketball. During the day the facility will be used by the Council's education service. Community groups will also have access to the facilities.

Area Committee Chair Councillor, Dick Walsh, said: "We must listen to our communities when they tell us what they need and help them to achieve their goals. This is a prime example of partnership working. The Council took the lead and used its expertise to guide the development of the project, sportscotland provided the essential funding to make it happen and there was vital input from the community at every step of the way."

Alastair Dempster, Chairman of sportscotland, said: "We are delighted to see Dunoon Stadium completed.
"If we want to improve the health of our nation, we have to take a serious look at our physical activity levels and that means giving more people the opportunity to get active more often. In order to achieve this, projects such as this one in Dunoon must continue throughout Scotland."

• The official opening will take place on Saturday 15 June at Dunoon Stadium, Black Park at 10.30am.
• The ribbon cutting ceremony, performed by Stewart Houston, will begin at 10.30am, followed by the semi finals and final of the Challenge Cup.
• Argyll and Bute Council adopted the Playing Fields Strategy in November 1999 and committed £200,00 over two years towards a five- year programme of work worth £2 million.