MANCHESTER - Some space to girls and other sports. Stars from the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) visited the brand new Manchester Tennis and Football Centre at SportCity on 26 May.
The players from the Atlanta Dream watched girls from Wright Robinson Sports College, Gorton, train with coaches from Manchester City FC’s community scheme City in the Community and players from Manchester City Ladies (Ellena Turner, Danni Lea, Danni Brown, Alice Hey, Rachel Hindle, Becky Grocott).
The new facilities, which have been developed through a partnership between Manchester City FC, Manchester City Council and Manchester Sport and Leisure Trust have seen the creation of seven brand new sports facilities, including three 3G synthetic turf 5 –a- side football pitches and four new tennis courts.
The Manchester Tennis and Football centre was officially launched in April 2011 by MCFC stars Vincent Kompany, Pablo Zabaleta and Nigel De Jong.
At the Centre, CITC are delivering a range of football activities targeting local schools and the community, including after school football sessions for both boys and girls, coaching sessions for disabled young people as well as educational and health programmes.
The new pitches are also available for the local community to book and use throughout the week, in evenings and on the weekend.
The Atlanta Dream are playing the Standard Life Great Britain National Women’s Team at the MEN Arena as part of WNBA Live – Manchester 2011 on May 29th marking the first time a WNBA team has played in Europe.
Fans purchasing tickets for the WNBA event on May 29 will receive the first opportunity to buy tickets for the Men’s USA Basketball v GB game taking place at MEN Arena next year.