COUNCIL bosses have ruled out installing a synthetic football pitch in Irvine’s new leisure centre - despite it’s overwhelming success for the Magnum.

Undeterred by it’s impending closure, over 45,000 more visits were made to the Magnum over the past year thanks in part to the installation of a 3G pitch.

The Times told last week how a 2014/15 progress report issued by Magnum operators KA Leisure revealed that 10,000 attendances had been recorded for the pitch alone.

But despite being one of the biggest success stories for the Magnum in the last decade, North Ayrshire Council has revealed that there are no plans to install a replacement pitch within the controversial new centre.

A spokesman for North Ayrshire Council said: “There is no intention to replicate the synthetic pitch in the new facility but KA Leisure and the council remain alive to opportunities to deliver similar facilities in the future.” The KA report revealed that 305,155 total visits to the Magnum were projected for the year 2014/15, compared with 259,378 the previous year.

In addition, the 3G pitch also contributed to a 31 per cent increase in indoor sports along with an increase in the number of local sports clubs using the facility.

However the Magnum’s gain was Greenwood Academy’s loss as the KA Leisure campus suffered a seven per cent drop in visitors.

This was put down to the loss of 3G pitch bookings to competitors along with reduced attendances at fitness classes.

The progress report was discussed at the most recent meeting of North Ayrshire Council’s Cabinet last Tuesday (January 27).

Although the new centre was not discussed in any detail, councillors praised KA for helping to increase the levels of participation in North Ayrshire.