Formerly known as Eton Manor, the venue on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park staged the wheelchair tennis events during the Paralympic Games and has been transformed into a dual-use facility featuring two international standard floodlit hockey pitches as well as six outdoor and four indoor tennis courts.

England hockey internationals Tom Carson, Henry Weir and Kirsty Mackay joined London 2012 wheelchair tennis players Jordanne Whiley and Lucy Shuker to officially open the centre in Stratford today where they were joined by children from local schools and members of local tennis and hockey clubs.

"Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre provides top class facilities for the next generation of hockey and tennis champions," said Lee Valley Regional Park Authority chief executive Shaun Dawson.

"The stars of tomorrow will be discovered here.

"Our programme puts these high quality courts and pitches within reach of players of all standards, from complete beginners to international athletes."

Visitors to the Lee Valley Centre can avail of six outdoor and four indoor tennis courts ©Lee Valley Regional Park Authority



The centre is set to provide a lasting legacy from London 2012 by allowing the public access to its facilities with visitors able to try hockey from as little as £4 ($6.80/€5.00) per person while tennis courts cost from £5 ($8.50/€6.20) an hour with coaching, introductory and inclusive sessions also available.

In addition, there will be events running throughout the year, including an annual schools festival where school children from across the region can play for free as well as school holiday activities.

"This is great news for Londoners, which adds to the spectacular suite of world class sporting venues available for their use at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park," said London Mayor Boris Johnson.

"From cycling and BMX, to swimming and diving, hockey and tennis and many other sports besides, this is an unrivalled set of facilities delivered thanks to London's Olympic and Paralympic Games."

After hosting the Paralympic Games wheelchair tennis events in 2012, the centre will continue to be a hub for disability tennis and a base for tennis community activity.

It is set to play host to the end-of-season NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters tournament from 2014 to 2016 beginning later this year.

In terms of hockey, the Lee Valley Centre will play host to a number of major international tournaments in the coming years.

Both hockey pitches feature a unique Union Jack design running along the outside and the main competitive pitch has seating capacity for 3,000 which can be extended to 15,000 for major events.

As well as hosting major events the Lee Valley Centre will provide the public with the opportunity to play on international standard pitches ©Lee Valley Regional Park Authority



The main pitch will be the central focus for the upcoming tournaments which include the 2018 women's World Cup and the EuroHockey Championships in August next year.

The 2016 women's Champions Trophy and the men's World League Semi-Final in 2017 are also due to take place there.

Before all that, the first international action to take place will be the Investec London Cup, which will see eight teams taking part in the invitational event from July 9 to 13.

England, Ireland, Scotland and South Africa are set to compete in the men's competition while the women's line-up includes England, Scotland, South Africa and Wales.

"We have an exciting few years ahead of us in terms of the major international events we're hosting at this stadium, and having a facility like this is a fantastic tool for us to engage the public with our sport and really stimulate some national pride in supporting England's hockey teams," said England Hockey chief executive Sally Munday.

"It's also a huge benefit to the local clubs and schools in the area who'll use the pitches, which is of utmost importance."

Information on tickets for the Investec London Cup can be found here.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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