NEW ARENA FACILITIES GOOD FOR COMMUNITY AND LOCAL ECONOMY

2.53.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 3rd Sep 2007

Liberal Democrat MEP for the West Midlands Liz Lynne has welcomed new developments at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, saying they will boost the local economy and be good for the community as a whole.

Speaking after a tour around the £113 million venue, Liz, who is Vice-President of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee at the European Parliament, said:

"These new facilities once again show that there is a real drive to progress in the local economy. A new development such as this will help to pull in business from across the country and continent, to the benefit of other local businesses such as hotels, restaurants and retail facilities."

Liz, who is also Vice-President of the All Party Disability Group, also praised the attention given to access and facilities for disabled people:

"I was pleased to see that the National Association of Disabled Supporters have been complimentary about the arena. It is great to see that the club and developers have put the necessary effort in to provide access to services for disabled people."

"With inclusive developments like these, football and the other available activities are open to the whole community."

Daniel Gidney, chief executive of the Ricoh Arena, said:

"Liz was extremely complimentary about the wide range of facilities that we have at the Ricoh and she wasn't surprised to hear that we are winning business from regional and national competitors."

"There are very few venues in the UK which can boast our unique selling points and it was great to show Liz round the fantastic Ricoh Arena."