A “temporary” structure standing the test of time

Often considered to be a temporary solution, a fabric-covered sports structure can last decades. In 2009, The Change Foundation instructed CopriSystems to design and install a state-of- the-art indoor cricket facility that would help to grow their Refugee cricket programme.

The building provides a safe environment for children seeking asylum to build relationships through sport and develop their cricket skills at the same time. Now, 15 years since it was built, the indoor cricket facility is still standing strong, thanks to a regular clean and service.

The facility still plays a significant role in engaging marginalised young people through the power of sport but is also used to bring the broader local community together through a programme of multi-sports including walking netball, intergenerational table tennis and visually impaired rugby.

Throughout the year, the facility is hired out to coaches and clubs for cricket training, particularly in the winter off-season and schools use it for their own programme of sport, which has never been more useful than during the recent months of rain, water-logged pitches and slippery concrete courts when indoors was the only option to keep children active.

The original brief had cricket in mind but, as this case study is proving, an investment in any indoor structure can help to grow all sports at all levels of ability and for all members of society.