The Beacon of Light is a sports, community and education facility, in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

. The £19m facility was commissioned by the

Foundation of Light The Foundation of Light (Previously called the ''SAFC Foundation'') is a Registered Charity in the United Kingdom, and is the independent charitable foundation of professional football club Sunderland A.F.C. It is the biggest football charity i ...

, and became the

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

of the charity when it opened in September 2018. The beacon is in ''Stadium Park'', alongside the Sunderland Aquatic Centre and the North Stand of the

Stadium of Light The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England, and the eighth and current home to Sunderland. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light is the ninth largest football stadium in England. The ...

History

The Foundation of Light opened an education facility, ''The Centre of Light'', within the Stadium of Light in 2004. The classrooms were a huge success, so much so that the Foundation outgrew them. This prompted Foundation chief executive Lesley Spuhler to look to commission a bigger venue. The Beacon was given approval to begin construction in October 2015, and received financial support from the

Tom Cowie Sir Thomas Cowie (9 September 1922 – 18 January 2012) was an English businessman who was the honorary Life President of the Arriva Group, formerly known as Cowie Group plc. Career Cowie Group Cowie's father, Thomas Stephenson Knowles Cowi ...

Foundation, and Foundation of Light trustees Peter Vardy and Bob Murray. Further investors included the North East

Local Enterprise Partnership In England, local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) were voluntary partnerships between local authorities and businesses, set up in 2011 by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to help determine local economic priorities and lead ec ...

Arriva Arriva Ltd. is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England. The company was originally established on 24 October 1938 as T Cowie Ltd. Initially focused on the sale of motorcycles, it relaunched shortl ...

, and Tombola. The Beacon was designed to provide both indoor and outdoor sporting facilities and spaces for both adult and school-level education. It can also support events and exhibitions, with a 2,084

Square metre The square metre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures) or square meter ( American spelling) is the unit of area in the International System of Units (SI) with symbol m2. It is the area of a square ...

exhibition space supporting a maximum capacity of 3,425. It is expected to serve up to 300,000 people per year. Construction was complete in May 2018. The Beacon was opened in phases, with people able to use the football facilities from June 2018. It officially opened on 14 September 2018.

Facilities

Outdoor

* 6 outdoor

Five-a-side football Five-a-side football is a version of minifootball, in which each team fields five players (four Outfield#In association football, outfield players and a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper). Other differences from association football ...

pitches with 3G turf *Outdoor sports courts

Indoor

The Beacon is designed in a cube shape with a luminous roof which lights up at night.

References

{{Authority control Sunderland A.F.C. City of Sunderland North East England Buildings and structures in the City of Sunderland Sports venues completed in 2018