Crusaders receive £2.2m funding boost for Seaview
Crusaders will use £2.2m of levelling-up funding from the UK Government to help make Seaview a "vital piece of community infrastructure".The money has been earmarked to develop a skills centre in the south stand of the stadium with the club believing it will "offer opportunities for people, young and old, to achieve and improve their lives""The club developed a very strong application and a robust business case within a very competitive, UK-wide challenge-fund," said Tommy Whiteside, the project director and treasurer of Crusaders."The skills centre will be a vital part of our infrastructure at Seaview as we seek to develop our premises as an open and welcoming modern small stadium."The facility will be open to the public and offer courses and vocational opportunities, as well as pathways to further and higher education partners. Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn said the funding will "help the local community to flourish" in north Belfast. He said: "It's wonderful to see that Crusaders FC's Seaview stadium in north Belfast, with its unique football heritage, will now be supporting new skills for the next generation."This state of the art skills centre will see the redevelopment of the south stand at Crusaders into a new community education, event and skills centre. The Shore Road facility will therefore help the local community to flourish."As this project shows, the UK Government's Plan for Change is delivering for people in Northern Ireland and across the rest of the UK, boosting skills and opportunities and enhancing the quality of life for local people."
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