Borough Life Autum 2006: Hunt is on for borough’s sporting heroes
Brand’s hatched in Leigh
This is the stylish new image for Leigh Sports Village.
The new ‘brand’ for the complex has been created by a Leigh design firm, Cell Creative, and is based round the image of a medal, with its echoes of sporting success.
The new image is seen as vital to the marketing of the development and will now be used on stationery and advertising materials, including signboards throughout the complex.
The brand is also designed to be part of a ‘family’ of brands for the wider leisure and retail complex, which for commercial reasons will be marketed by the developers as Pennington Park. Cell Creative’s offices at Leigh Wharf are literally a stone’s throw from the sports village site. And although the firm has many national and international accounts, the company’s designers are all trained at Wigan and Leigh College and live locally.
Leigh sports star Chris Pugh recently cut the first sod on the site of the new Leigh Sports Village swimming pool and sports centre.
The Paralympian swimmer won a silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics – the biggest in the history of the games.
Now the search is on for more sporting heroes from the town – names from the past like Jim Ledgard, Joe Bates and Peter ‘P.T.’ Eckersley, or today’s stars such as Lancashire wicketkeeper Gareth Cross or Leigh Harriers’ Peter Riley. Sports village organisers want Borough Life readers to nominate all the people – past and present – they think should be honoured when the facility opens next year.
Suggestions please to Trevor Barton, Leigh and District Sports Partnership, c/o Borough Life, FREEPOST NWW3502A, Wigan WN1 1XZ or e-mail boroughlife@wigan.gov.uk
The new £6.4million public sports centre is scheduled to be completed by May next year. Funded by Wigan Council and managed by Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust, it will include:
- 25 metre, six-lane swimming pool capable of hosting competitive swimming galas with seating for 180 people;
- Eight court sports hall for badminton, basketball, netball, volleyball and football with seats for 250 people;
- Fitness suite with a range of weight resistance and cardiovascular equipment for a full body workout;
- Multi-purpose room for aerobic sessions and martial arts activities for up to 50 people; and
- Wigan & Leigh College sports lab and treatment facilities.