Following the successful conference Celebrating Sport in Malta held last week, SportMalta wrote another important page in its history with Prime Minister Robert Abela accompanied by Minister for Sport Clifton Grima and SportMalta CEO Mark Cutajar inaugurated a €5.5 million Complex in Marsa.
This new development inaugurated is another complex in a chain of facilities that SportMalta has been constantly constructing for the benefit of the sporting community in Malta.
After various upgrades of existing facilities in the surroundings, which included the 1st and 2nd phase of the Marsa Athletics’ Stadium as well as the restoration of the 1903 building, it is also yet another project out of a series of projects within the upgrade of the Marsa Sports Complex, in line with this Government’s vision, and plan, for the creation of the comprehensive Marsa Sports’ Village.
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The new complex was constructed to replace an existing derelict building which was constructed in the 1990s and never utilised. On Ground Floor, it houses a multi-purpose hall with sprung flooring that can be used for various activities. There are also changing rooms with showers and various rooms providing office space for Malta Netball Association, Malta Rugby Union, Malta Softball and Baseball Association and Malta Gymnastics Federation. It also provides meeting rooms to accommodate the needs of the clubs and federations as well as SportMalta’s own management of the Marsa Complex. On the first floor then, within the glass paned steel structure which complements distinctively the surrounding natural environment and the historic 1903 building, the complex has a 900 square metre floor area to accommodate Gymnastics and other sport. The facility has a minimum clear height of 9 metres, serving well the regulatory requirements of the discipline, as well as a wooden sprung flooring covering the whole area. The complex also has various installations of gymnastics’ apparatus such as spring flooring, uneven bars, beam, parallel bars, etc. It also houses a spectator stand which can accommodate up to 300 seated persons, making this facility suitable to be used for competitions occasionally, thus providing our athletes with adequate space to showcase their performance of the discipline further to being a dedicated training venue, which without doubt, will be of the greatest benefit to the sport and our athletes.
Prime Minister Robert Abela referred to the determination of the children he met in this sports complex during the inauguration, and their desire to roam in the sport. Here, he reiterated that the Government would continue to invest in them because we want them to be able to aspire in Malta as much as any child from another country. “That is what we want for our children, that is the result of the work we are doing so that this is the guarantee we give them.”
He concluded that we also give this same guarantee to our communities, with projects like this one, which in its design uses the principle that from the investment in the new facilities, the community also benefits, which today from a building that had been abandoned since the year it was built, has a sports facility of the highest level together with a multipurpose hall that you can use.
“This is our vision for the communities. Healthy, vibrant, well-served, inclusive, clean and beautiful communities. Therefore, we are investing in communities more than ever, whatever the sector. I believe, however, that the sports sector beyond the sports facilities is also a reflection of the values and aspirations we embrace as a community, as a country. We must continue to build a Malta where sport is not only a career or a hobby, but also remains a source of pride, of national unity and of inspiration not only for today’s generations but also for those of tomorrow.”
Minister Clifton Grima looked at the work being done with an unprecedented investment in this sports hub, part of a national plan for this sector and said, “It is part of our vision to make this the sports hub complex, which includes facilities for various sports disciplines and of the best level. A vision through which we are aiming for our country to have sports facilities of international standards that serve as a foundation for the sports industry. In this way, we will not only continue to put our country’s name on the world sports map, but attract investment to our country, also through sports tourism.”
The CEO of SportMalta, Mark Cutajar, said that in the last ten years, SportMalta has grown, in terms of facilities and human resources, both in terms of training and knowledge. “SportMalta has fully looked at the present strategy, one of the foundations of which is the sports facilities, and is developing these plans into a reality of the best level in order to accommodate athletes of various disciplines, the sports associations and to the general public.” During the opening over 50 athletes of the SportMalta OntheMove Academy were the first to perform in a display prepared with their coaches for this event. Sport Promotion Unit within SportMalta also invited over 200 students from the National Sport School and Marsa Primary who took part in activities related to fitness and gymnastics.
