Sheffield Sharks basketball: Brand new 2,500 capacity Park Community Arena opens at Olympic Legacy Park

The 2,500 capacity sports arena built in the Olympic Legacy Park, Sheffield, has opened its doors for the first time today.

The Park Community Arena, known as the Canon Medical Arena, will be the new home for Sheffield's two professional basketball teams, the Sheffield Sharks and the Sheffield Hatters. It is a state-of-the-art venue, with a medical centre Sharks Managing Director, Sarah Backovic previously said could only be rivalled by Manchester United.

Sharks Head Coach and Park Community Arena Director, Atiba Lyons, said: "After 15 years as a coach in Sheffield, we have an amazing opportunity to expand and grow our players and our teams, to become an even stronger club with huge community outreach, and the added benefit of immediate access to medical scanning."

The Canon Medical Arena is the product of a decade-long journey to provide the two teams with a purpose-built facility to secure their futures, as basketballs rise across the world continued. The new arena will also provide a home for those on the Sharks and Canon Medical's RESPECT program.

Ms Backovic said: "This gives young people at risk of coercion into gangs the opportunity to use sport as a vehicle to divert from those activities and a mentor programme headed up by role models in the form of pro athletes."

The very first professional basketball game in the new arena will be this Sunday, October 8, when the Sharks play host to the Newcastle Eagles.