It may be the same space but the sports hall at Kingsmead Leisure Centre has been quietly transformed over recent months.
New energy saving LED lighting, freshly painted walls and crisply lain line markings plus investment in new and updated equipment. The return of a soft play area complete with slides and inflatable obstacle course open on certain days of the week for parents of children aged nought to five.
It’s all adding up to an exciting new look and experience for customers made possible by the £8 million transformation of Kingsmead Leisure Centre, set to be fully complete later this summer.
The next stage for the sports hall is welcoming back existing community clubs and attracting new ones interested in booking the flexible space for all age sport and recreation.
Giles Seaford, Sport and Community Development Manager, said: “At the moment we’re working with existing or previous hires to find out what their plans are as well as reaching out to the wider public.
“The sports hall has always been popular with the community and with the improvements made we expect the demand for slots to be high.
“That includes interest from existing clubs but also new ones, as well as from the NHS, public health and other community groups, which may wish to make use of the sports hall space.”
As well as club bookings such as martial arts, 5-a-side football and gymnastics the centre is finalising an exciting new programme of activities for open access and pay and play.
These will include sessions for sports like badminton and table tennis but also introductions to new sports like pickle ball – a combination of badminton, table tennis and tennis that is the fastest growing sport in the United States and starting to take off in the UK too.
For anyone interested in hiring the sports hall at Kingsmead Leisure Centre, when it opens, please complete and return our Expression of Interest form. Space will be offered on a first come, first served basis.