The new indoor athletics arena at Athlone Institute of Technology will be formally opened by Taoiseach Enda Kenny today, an indication of the importance of the development to athletics in Ireland, the college and the region.
A Government grant of €737,000 was important in getting the project complete but most of the €10 million cost came from within the resources of the AIT.  A large part of the credit for this goes to college President Ciarán O’Catháin who holds the same position with Athletics Ireland.
It has a feel of the Field of Dreams in Kevin Costner’s movie of the same name.  “Build it and they will come” was the famous line from that and so it has proved in the first few weeks in which the track has been open.
Irish national records have already been set and Eamon Coghlan, arguably the most successful indoor athlete of all time has hailed it as ‘one of the most historic developments in Irish athletics’.
The track itself is the same make as was used in the London Olympics and some of the material used in the final stages of construction came from the ExCel Arena in London where Katie Taylor won Gold for Ireland last August.
This weekend it will host the Senior Indoor Championships with stars on show from Rob Heffernan to Derval O’Rourke, Fionnuala Britton to Brian Gregan.  The 2,000 seats are a virtual sell out and the arena has already proved a huge lift for the students and the region.
“The Arena is a real statement of what we are and what we hope to become,” said AIT Commercial Manager Brian Nevin, speaking to Sport for Business.
“It strengthens our strategic objective to become a college of choice for Irish as well as international students.”
“Our aim is to have a student body that hails from Ballina to Beijing and Trim to Turin.”
“It is a competitive market attracting students and this international standard sporting arena gives a huge boost to our standing on a local, national and global scale.”
“It has already given a lift to local business and this weekend with a full house from all across Ireland over two days will add to that.”
“We will be conducting a full survey on the economic impact of the project at the end of this year once a full indoor season has been completed and we are excited about the benefits it is already bringing.”
The stadium is open most days to athletes from all across the country to train at a cost of only €8.  Students at the Institute get a reduction to only €5.
This weekend is one of the highlights of a 30 strong programme of Athletics Ireland national events supported by Woodies DIY throughout 2013.
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