UoB’s New Sports centre – student update
With the University’s fantastic new £55million sports centre nearing completion, Burn FM Sport’s Deputy Head of Sport Jack Fantham provides an exclusive low-down on the plethora of features you can look forward to come the opening of the doors in Spring 2016…
Sporting (if you’ll pardon the pun) multiple high performance gym and exercise areas, the largest of which will consist of just over 200 stations, the sports centre will be able to accommodate a wide variety of people including students and the public those exercising at their own leisure, as well as many of the University sports teams and University sport scholarship holders. The main gym itself will be one of the largest in the UK according to Kara Griffiths, Communications and Stakeholder Engagement Manager of Estates Development at the University of Birmingham.
In addition to this, the building will even have its very own Dojo, home to the University’s many different martial arts societies ranging Judo, Karate, Taekwondo and Ninjitsu to name but a few. This is certainly representative of the UB sports department’s drive to provide greater services to a wider range of sports, something in which the new sports centre will be pivotal in achieving.
The centre will also be home to 6 glass backed squash courts, and holds several multi-purpose sports halls which can be adapted for a variety of sports. It will also serve as a base for the High Performance Centre, providing specialist expertise and rehabilitation to athletes of the University and wider area.
What is clear is the passion for the building shared by all those involved in its design, organisation and construction. Zena Wooldridge, Director of Sport at the University, said: “It’s been exciting watching this huge building emerge over the last 12 months, bearing in mind the 6 year journey for this project. Even those of us who have worked so closely with the design are now appreciating its scale, and the impressive range of sport and fitness activities it will accommodate. But the quality will also be fabulous. You can start to imagine how this building will become a vibrant hub of activity for our students, university staff and local residents of all ages. As its opening is almost in sight, you can feel the buzz growing around us.”
Of course, perhaps most prominent when it comes to the new sports centre, is the pool. 50m – the largest and first of its kind in Birmingham. This will not only allow for UoB swimmers to train in the best quality environment, but will also provide an outlet for those swimming for leisure and even beginners.
Whilst the name is yet to be decided, what we can be sure of is that the building we be an iconic structure within campus, and a leading facility in University sport for decades to come.
