The venue to be used for the hockey competition at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games is set to open next month.

The project, valued at £5.5m, is situated adjacent to Glasgow Green Football Centre on Kings Drive.

The facility is the last to be completed by the Council that will be used throughout the duration of the Games, but it will be ready for use by the public more than one year beforehand.

Glasgow National Hockey Centre will feature two new FIH (Federation International de Hockey) standard water-based Floodlit Synthetic Hockey Pitches, with changing accommodation for players and officials, to serve as the Hockey competition and warm-up facilities during the Games.

The facility will also include accommodation, offices, meeting rooms and a function suite to provide a new national centre for hockey, with Scottish Hockey taking on the lease for the centre's upper floor.

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In addition, the main building at the centre has 500 seats in the grandstand, although there will be 5,000 seats there during the Games, with a further 4,500 spectator places created as a result of temporary stands erected for the Hockey competition.

Councillor Archie Graham, Executive Member for the Commonwealth Games at Glasgow City Council, said: "It is great to see that Glasgow National Hockey Centre will soon open, and this is a project that will surely further develop the sport in Scotland at all levels. This international-standard venue is a wonderful addition to Glasgow's already outstanding sporting facilities.

"In 2014, we can all look forward to seeing many of the finest players in the world compete here during the Games. I am delighted that all of the council venues that will be used during the Games will be open to the public more than a year before the Opening Ceremony. This is in itself another sporting legacy for Glasgow."

David Grevemberg, Chief Executive, Glasgow 2014, added: "The completion of construction at Glasgow Green Hockey Centre is another key milestone in the city's preparations for Glasgow 2014. This venue will leave a lasting legacy not only for the sport of Hockey in Scotland but also for the local community."

Glasgow National Hockey Centre was designed by Glasgow City Council's in-house design team and built by City Building.

(JP/CD)