Birmingham Goals Soccer Centre opens

Five-a-side football centre operator Goals Soccer Centres has opened its nineteenth facility at the Star City leisure complex in Birmingham.

The new site has 10 third generation rubber crumb arenas and been developed on top of the Star City carpark, 40ft (12.2m) above the ground.

According to Goals, the new site is the only sports facility in the UK to utilise such a location.

Over the next couple of weeks, the operator will open two more sites – in Plymouth and Bradford – while construction has begun at another site in Birmingham, bringing the total number of Goals centres in the UK to 22.

Since floating on the AIM in December 2004, Goals has maintained a steady rollout plan.

The group has also posted substantial profit increases recently with a growth in pre-tax profits of 355 per cent for the year ending 2005 – to £2.8m from £0.6m at the end of 2004.

The company saw sales up 35 per cent on 2004 figures – to £11.2m from £8.3m – and like for like sales grew by 9 per cent.

More than 60,000 people play at Goals centres each week with more than a million goals scored every year. All Goals leagues are Football Association-affiliated and use professionally qualified referees. Details: www.goalsfootball.co.uk