Largs - Inverclyde Sports Centre receives £1m upgrade

The centre's principal Barry Fleeting even told the News that he hopes King Charles III will follow in his parents footsteps by visiting the centre in which his grandfather donated funds towards when it opened in 1958.
The popular indoor sports hall which hosts many community events as well as national tv sport was given a full modernisation with new flooring, signage, wall divider and sound system, as well as indoor seating for major events with capacity for an audience of 400 people. It has now opened.
And a new outdoor sports area and function room has been built and now ready for access for school groups to take advantage of the great outdoors and the wealth of countryside on the estate.
Barry said: ""Since the centre re-opened in 2017, the sports hall was one of the areas which we felt needed some TLC to match the rest of the facilities which we have on offer.
The centre itsef has been redeveloped and redesigned and it only felt right that the sports hall was revamped.
"When you had cameras from the BBC here it probably drew attention to the fact that it needed some modernising - so it now very much looks the part.
"Boccia, volleyball, netball and badminton are all popular in the hall.
"We have seen a huge increase in judo activity as well as table tennis from their respective governing bodies.

TLC - Sports hall has had a makeover (Image: Newsquest)
"There is a real mixed bag of sports which utilise the centre and we have schools and community use.
"We have new up to date lighting in place, and that was one of the items of feedback we received from sporting groups, so we have adjustable lighting to suit whichever sport.
"We also have newly installed electric scoreboards.
"The bright blue colour is also a change - and most of the time the hall works as two sports halls with a divider in middle.
"There will be new line markings, wall coverings and ceiling will be complete and covered, with the PA system for larger events, and we have upgraded the ventilation for better air quality.
"Since COVID times, the sports hall has seen an increase in business and we have had 31 different governing bodies who have visited. 
"It is amazing to think of all the development there has been at Inverclyde over the past five years, and if you look back over to the start in 1958 and the original investment from the Royal Family in making it happen in the first instance and now how the centre has evolved to reflect what sport in Scotland needs.
"It will continue to move forward.
"We are really grateful that that investment happened over the years to allow us to get to this point - and it would be great if King Charles did visit in future to see how his grandfather's original investment has grown.
"There is always a close tie between the centre and the Royal Family who have visited on many occasions and along with the support provided by the Scottish Government has made it the centre really valued by so many today."
The new outdoor adventure centre will be predominantly used by children and youth groups, and is based in woodland behind the car park, with a new road access built.
Barry said: "It is a new base which we have developed which will be the start and stop location for a lot of outdoor sports and activities away from the traditional sports.
"We will mobilise biking, hill walks, orienteering, gorge walking and climbing, and it has drying and wash down facilities, and it has a large indoor social space for them to gather, and later this year we will receive a mobile climbing tower which we will be able to move around the estate to cater for groups we have staying.
"The whole project is about how we open up the wider estate that we have got - and the grounds team have worked really hard to open up the estate up there with the forestry commission to have tree planting as well as a walking route that goes all the way up the hill side and we own the 86 acres of land and we can explore that more than we have been able to previously. And each primary school which visits us will now get the opportunity to plant their own tree in the grounds."
The flexibility of Inverclyde Sports Centre over the past 20 years has seen it host the Royal National Mod to Comic Con, and in recent years, was a base for Covid19 vaccinations.
The centre has also hosted major events including Commonwealth Fencing, the Scottish Judo Championships, as well as major football teams and the Scotland and Glasgow Warriors Rugby teams, with a state of the art modern gymnasium.
Investment from the Euromillions winners Colin and Chris Weir also saw the introduction of the Weir 3G centre and refurbished tennis courts, while a new all weather rugby pitch was also laid at the main outdoor astroturf pitch.