- City University’s sports centre. Pic: Andrew Stuart
City University’s £7m redevelopment of the sports centre is on the rocks as sports provision comes under scrutiny
THE grey shutters are down and gym equipment collecting dust inside, as City University’s sports centre lies dormant – almost one year after closing.
The council has yet to grant planning permission for the redevelopment of the sports centre after objections over the height of the new building.
The £7m sports centre is planned to include a six-court sports hall, with the option of converting into a four-court show court with seating for 250 people, five studios, and a gym with 100 stations.
But Bill Thompson, head of sport and leisure at City University, said the sports centre will take two years to complete and will not be ready until at least September 2014.
“The redevelopment will really bring the University up on par with its expectation to be within the top two per cent within the world of universities,” he said.
Gym memberships will be around £23 per month, Thompson says, significantly lower than commercial chains in the area.
Rob Scully, Students’ Union President, who captained the rugby team in his second year but now complains he is “woefully out of shape”, said: “It’s incredibly disappointing the way things are at the moment and the gym is shut up. I think that the University need to be far more open and communicate with students what’s happening, what’s expected, and when the new facility will be delivered.
“I’m putting pressure on the University to make sure they’re communicating with students.” Currently, City is ranked 103rd out of 142 universities in the British sport league table, with just 13 teams entered in competitions.
For an institution with 20,000 students – and a turnover of £178 million – it spent just £91,500 on sports provision last year, which works out as a paltry £4.50 per student. Thompson acknowledged that the University is struggling in the BUCS league table, but indicated this is a reflection of the University’s funding. “We’re not Loughborough, nobody comes here because it’s a sport university, they come here for the education side,” he explained.
Tom Jones, a first year Law student, said sports provision was “a huge part” of choosing which university to go to.
“I was absolutely gutted when I found out City had its sports centre closed for two years. I can’t really afford the local gyms, they’re not offering any special discounts, just the standard student ones,” he said.
“I’m furious that they only spend £4.50 per student. We pay a lot of money to be here. Sport is absolutely invaluable, aside from the social aspect, for just keeping fit. It’s incredibly important that students get a lot of exercise.”
The 19-year-old, who plays in goal for the University football team, added: “They’re understaffed in the sports department. Our trial for football was poorly organised and run. It underlines how little City cares about sport.”
