Local school children in Lincoln have selected their preferred designs for the refurbishment of two of the city's play areas as part of the government's Playbuilder Programme. The majority of the funding for the £140,000 scheme, which incorporates the revamp of the Nene Road and Newark Road sites, has been provided through a government grant and will be carried out in partnership between the City of Lincoln Council (CLC) and

A new community stadium, which will be home to Aberdeen Football Club (AFC), is to be situated at Loirston Loch after the local authority backed the site as its preferred location for the venue. Plans are now set to be developed for the new facility, following Aberdeen City Council's (ACC) decision to approve the findings of a feasibility study that identified Loirston Loch as the most deliverable option for the

The new Dallas Cowboys Stadium is due to open in Arlington, Texas, on 6 June. The 3 million sq ft (278,700sq m) stadium, which is estimated to have cost around US$1.3bn (£819m, 931.5m euro), will become the largest NFL stadium in the US, stretching a quarter-mile in length. Designed by HKS Sport, the 80,000-capacity (which can be expanded to 100,000) stadium boasts the largest retractable roof in the world at

Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club (BHAFC) has announced that it has secured full funding for a new £93m stadium project at Falmer, East Sussex, after Tony Bloom took over as club chair. Bloom will fund the majority of the £93m development after replacing previous chair Dick Knight, who has stepped down after 12 years in the position to become the club's new life president. The scheme includes a 22,500-seat

A £2.8m development dubbed Rhondda Life will provide Ferndale in Wales with a new sports and leisure complex centered on the country's national sport. The four-year phased project will replace Ferndale Rugby Club with a new two-storey Rugby Club complete with an events pavilion and a fitness centre, complemented by a 20-bedroom, three-star hotel, bars, a restaurant featuring the history of Welsh rugby, a café and heritage suite and community

Metrix Consortium's proposals for a £12bn defence technical college at the former RAF airbase in St Athan, South Wales, incorporate a new community leisure centre. Plans submitted to the Vale of Glamorgan Council on 12 May outline a sports centre comprising 12 sports courts plus two squash courts; an eight-lane, floodlit athletics track; 12 outdoor sports for rugby, hockey, football and cricket; and a fitness suite with cardiovascular equipment and

A £16m sports centre will be built at The University of Central Lancashire (UCL) in Preston to provide new sporting facilities to its students and to local children during the school holidays. The new complex will feature a sprung timber sports hall with more than 300 retractable bleacher seats and a viewing gallery, able to accommodate regional and national sporting events, conventions, exhibitions and academic examinations. Activity studios, squash courts,

Plans for the construction of a £2.9m dry ski slope and clubhouse at Newmilns Snow and Sports Complex near Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, have been submitted to East Ayrshire Council. The proposals, which have been drawn up by architects Lawrence McPherson Associates, include a new 115m (377ft) adult ski slope and a 30m (98ft) nursery ski slope in addition to the new clubhouse facility, which will feature a café-bar, function rooms and

Meadowside Leisure Centre in Burton, Staffordshire, is set to undergo a major transformation. East Staffordshire Borough Council has revealed its initial plans and artists' impressions, produced by Maber Architects, of how the revamped leisure facility will look when it reopens in summer 2010. The £5m scheme includes a refurbishment of the gym with upgraded equipment and studio facilities, improvements to toilets and changing rooms and the introduction of a new

Scott Hall Leisure Centre in Leeds is to undergo a £0.41m redevelopment, thanks to a grant from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The grant, sourced from the Free Swimming Capital Modernisation Programme award, will fund the conversion of the centre's existing squash courts into an extended Bodyline Gym area to accommodate a further 17 pieces of equipment. The move is expected to boost net income by around

Detailed plans for the £30m redevelopment of Edgbaston cricket ground, home to Warwickshire County Cricket Club (WCCC), have been given the go-ahead by Birmingham City Council (BCC). MCD Developments has already been appointed to deliver the scheme, which includes a new hotel, a housing development, offices, and a new stand and pavilion designed to increase the venue's capacity to more than 25,000. The new stand has been designed to provide

Plans for the £48m development of a new leisure complex on the site of the Tropicana centre in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, have been put on hold until early 2010 due to the recession. The Lifestation@Tropicana project, which was approved by North Somerset Council's (NSC) West Area planning committee in October, had been set to get underway later this year as part of a wider scheme to revamp the town's seafront. However,

UEFA president Michel Platini has told the Football Federation of Ukraine (FFU) that Kiev could lose the right to host the Euro 2012 final if infrastructure issues are not addressed by 30 November. Ukraine is due to co-host the tournament with Poland, and the warning follows an announcement by European football's governing body that the Polish cities of Gdansk, Poznan, Warsaw and Wroclaw, have all been confirmed as host cities.

A new £4.3m multi-purpose leisure complex in Paddington, London, which will be the only facility in the area to be accredited by the Inclusive Fitness Initiative (IFI), is to open this summer. Westminster City Council hopes that the 1,800sq m (19,375sq ft) Little Venice Sports Centre will help to tackle the borough’s health inequalities by making its facilities fully accessible to customers with physical disabilities and learning difficulties, as well

A council committee has narrowly voted in favour of proposals put forward by Poole Town Football Club (PTFC) for the construction of new facilities at Branksome Recreation Ground. The plans, which will see the football club relocate from its current Tatnam Park home, will now be considered by the the Borough of Poole Council's (BPC) cabinet on 2 June following council's environment overview and scrutiny committee's decision. Branksome Recreation Ground's

Plans to create a multi-million pound indoor winter sports resort on the site of a former quarry at Great Blakenham, near Ipswich, Suffolk, could be delayed by another two years due to a planning technicality. Developer Onslow Suffolk was finally given the green light for the new £350m SnOasis complex by communities secretary Hazel Blears in November last year, nearly three years after predecessor Ruth Kelly called in the scheme.

Construction work on a new eco-friendly multi-use pavilion at the City of Wakefield Golf Course in Lupset has begun. The pavilion, designed by NPS North East on behalf of the City of Wakefield Council, will be used as a base for the city's golf club, Azaad Cricket Club, Old Thornesians AFC and St Ignatius AFC. Part of the pavilion will look on to the golf course and include a tearoom,

A 330-hectare Renewable Energy Village at Eastgate in Weardale may become a reality if Durham County Council approves the revised planning application recently submitted by Weardale Task Force. The ecologically sustainable site to be built on a former cement works located in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty will feature Britain's second public geothermally heated spa and a hotel, as well as homes, office space and workshop accommodation.

A feasibility study that has identified Loirston Loch, Aberdeen, as the preferred site for a new community stadium has been backed by the local authority, although a final decision on the scheme is not expected until next month. Aberdeen City Council's (ACC) Policy and Strategy Committee voted in favour of the report's conclusion that the Loirston Loch presents the most deliverable option for the stadium, which will be the new

A new centre, designed specifically for gymnastics, has opened in Dunfermline, Scotland. The Bruce Street Gymnastics Centre is located in a leisure centre, specially converted to accommodate gymnasts. Equipment features include a tumble track, a vault run up and a double minitramp set into the floor. There are also additional asymmetric bar stations, extra competition height beams, extra rings, and a new horizontal bar with a supporting platform. The design

Three leisure facilities in Hertfordshire will be overhauled pending council approval of the increased capital injection required for the projects. Proposals for Hartham Leisure Centre in Hertford include a 65-station gym on the first floor, overlooking Hartham Common, as well as a new studio, a crèche, changing rooms and a reception. Grange Paddocks Pool and Gym in Bishop's Stortford will feature a new 80-station gym with views over the paddocks,

Saddleworth Leisure Centre in Uppermill, Oldham, has undergone a £1.7m redevelopment. The centre’s 25m swimming pool has been remodelled and the centre has been substantially extended. New facilities include a 50-station fitness suite, dance studio and a reception – together with fully refurbished changing areas. The work, carried out by Cheshire-based Pozzoni, also includes the creation of two new five-a-side football pitches, which will be added to the site’s offering

A design team has been appointed to work on the multi-million pound Leeds Arena project. Leeds City Council named its strategic design partner as Jacobs - an award-winning building and technical services consultancy that is currently working on projects such as the refurbishment of The City Varieties music hall and the new headquarters of the Northern Ballet Theatre. In turn, Jacobs has appointed Populous (formerly HOK Sport Architecture) to provide

Cardiff City Football Club (CCFC) has announced that the official opening of its new multi-million pound stadium at Leckwith is to be marked by a friendly match against Glasgow Celtic Football Club on 22 July. The 27,000-seat stadium, which has been built by Laing O'Rourke at a cost of more than £50m, will replace the club's current Ninian Park ground and will also be home to the Cardiff Blues rugby

A public consultation on two redevelopment options for the Forest Hill Pools has begun in Lewisham, London, to help determine the future of the facility, which was closed in 2006. It is the second round of consultations to be held on the development, after the council was forced to re-think designs last year following the adjacent Victorian Louise House receiving a Grade II listing by English Heritage. The listing meant

Plans for the £1bn transformation of the former Ferrier Estate and neighbouring Kidbrooke area in south-east London, have been approved by Greenwich Council and will include an array of leisure facilities. As part of the Kidbrooke Vision masterplan, Thomas Tallis secondary school will be redeveloped to include a dual-use gymnastics centre, martial arts dojo, a flood lit all-weather sports pitch and a six-court sports hall, designed for county and regional

A disused cricket pavilion in Newcastle upon Tyne is set to be transformed as part of plans for a new £880,000 Sure Start Children's Centre at the Brunswick Recreation Ground. Newcastle City Council's (NCC) executive has approved plans for the new centre, which will see the pavilion's existing changing rooms replaced by new facilities that meet Sport England requirements. The construction of the centre, which is expected to get underway