Site cleared for Steven Gerrard football centre

Demolition work has started at the site of a new sports pavilion which will host an academy run by former England and Liverpool player Steven Gerrard.

The £7.5m facility at Hickings Lane Recreation Ground in Stapleford, Nottinghamshire, is due to open next year, with classrooms and training facilities for young people.

It will feature two 3G pitches and a grass pitch for community use.

The current changing rooms, which have stood since the 1980s, are being demolished, with the 57-week project expected to be completed next autumn.

Broxtowe Borough Council is delivering the project using money awarded by central government, with the Football Federation contributing £1.4m and the Premier League putting up £60,000, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Council leader Milan Radulovich said it was possible the next Steven Gerrard would come through the academy, adding: “I hope he doesn’t go to Liverpool, as a Forest supporter.

“We’d love to see local people progress to an international career through sport, and I hope they find their foundations at the academy.”

Mr Radulovich said the facility was "the accumulation of many years’ work".

“People will get whole range of community options, encouraging them to live a healthier, cleaner and energetic lifestyle," he added.

The academy will temporarily be based at the University of Nottingham from September, before permanently moving to Stapleford when the new facility is complete.

Jonathan Little, head of economic development and regeneration at the authority said: "There’s been lots of hiccups and bumps but now we’re on the way.

"It will be the beating heart of regeneration and sport in the area."

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