EST. 1936
Redbrick Friday 2nd March 2012 | Volume 76 | Issue 1409 | redbrickpaper.co.uk
Academy Awards 2012: The Oscar-winners and red carpet stunners See Film, p.19 and Life&Style, p.21
New £50 million sports centre planned
Artist's impression of the front of the new sports facility – subject to change Sam Price Sport Editor
The University of Birmingham is about to submit a planning application for a new £50 million sports centre facility, aimed to be in operation by early 2015. The new facility will be positioned behind the Guild with the entrance facing onto Bristol Road at the junction with Edgbaston Park Road, where the Gun Barrels pub is currently positioned. It will include a 50 metre swimming pool, a sports hall three times the size of the current one in the Munrow Centre, as well as a state of the art
gym, two dance studios and improved changing facilities. The University have chosen to make a large investment to increase participation, engage better with the community, recruit students and enhance its status as one of the elite universities for sport. However some concerns have been raised about the cost of the project. Zena Wooldridge, Director of University of Birmingham Sport (UB Sport), spoke enthusiastically about the project, 'If we're going to keep sport as a distinctive feature of campus life then we have to be bold. The whole package of what we try to provide in terms of stu-
dent experience – if you then enhance that by putting in some world class facilities then suddenly we'll make a huge impact as an institution.' The new facility will operate partly commercially, through use by the community with its more strategic position, and will also be a key element in terms of recruitment for the University, with the facility offering a greater student experience for those paying the higher tuition fees. 'Simply having these world class facilities will make our recruitment so much stronger, as first impressions count, at Open Days and to new
students arriving at the University. Having a much bigger pool, gym and sports hall will make such a difference.' The new facility is unlikely to significantly change the size of the sports clubs that have performed well in recent years, but it is aimed that the development will double sport centre membership, as well as providing the capacity for further expansion of different recreational activities. 'It really is about getting more people playing more sport more often', says Wooldridge. 'There will be a little more space for some clubs and for performance sport,
but the majority of the extra space will be about engaging more students. It's about improved accessibility to the majority of the student population'. Vice President for Sport Tim Smith was equally optimistic about the project saying, 'Students have been wanting better facilities for years and now this development could make this dream a reality for future students. It is a hugely exciting project, which will bring so much to the student experience at Birmingham, not just in playing sport but also spectating, and inspire many more to get active whilst at University.'