Foyle Arena to open in three months

An artist's impression of the new 25 metre pool at Foyle Arena, which will open to the public in April.

The much-awaited luxury complex will replace the former St Columb’s Park pool and leisure centre, and will be another jewel in the crown of leisure facilities for Derry City Council.

The new state-of-the-art facility will feature a 25-metre, six lane swimming pool and a children’s pool adjacent to the main pool, with a fully-equipped changing suite.

There is an eight badminton court main hall and multi-sports hall, which can double as an event space for 2,000 people as well as fitness facilities for both general health and elite athletes who will be able to avail of a fitness room and strength and conditioning suite upstairs.

Elsewhere there are dedicated specific centres of excellence areas for wrestling, judo and climbing and an indoor international standard climbing wall, which is already attracting interest from Belfast and even Scotland, according to Noel Munnis Head of Culture Leisure and Community Services.

“The budget is £12.7 million and the vast majority of that is submitted by Derry City Council,” said Mr Munnis.

“It is a huge investment and a huge commitment by the council to leisure.

“Over £12 million of that £12.7 million is coming from Derry City Council and the remainder is from DSD, specifically for the event space.”

An artist's impression of what the £12.7 million Foyle Arena will look like...

Outside the centre will boast three grass pitches and a 2G full-sized hockey pitch along with a single 3G five-a-side area. The changing accommodation for the outside sports is contained within the new Arena building.

The main contractors for the building works is O’Hare McGovern and the building work is due for completion at the end of March.

There will be a ceremonial opening at the end of March and, after a lead-in time of a couple of weeks to train staff, the building will open to the public in the middle of April.

See attached video.