Southampton’s 150-acre Outdoor Sports Centre first opened in 1938 to provide sports and recreational facilities for the city.
It is now to get a £30m upgrade, made possible by a £20m levelling up grant from central government.
The appointment of Morgan Sindall as contractor comes soon after the approval of the planning application to carry out the works to the sports centre.
These include:
- a pavilion with changing and refreshment facilities, a gym and an indoor tennis/netball hall.
- an Alpine snow sports centre
- a new athletics clubhouse and grandstand
- all-weather floodlit football pitches
- upgrade of cricket and hockey pitches.
Construction is expected to begin in late summer 2024 but the Outdoor Sports Centre will remain open for business and Morgan Sindall will be trying to minimise disruption during build phase.
Southampton City Council leader Satvir Kaur said: “Morgan Sindall have a proven track record on delivering project schemes in partnership with us, which are now award winning for their social impact. The regeneration plans, match-funded by central Government, to our much-loved and popular Outdoor Sports Centre, mean we can help put Southampton on the map, with state-of-the-art facilities and hosting regional and national competitions. It will also significantly help improve health inequalities often felt by our most deprived communities, and create many new jobs and opportunities for local people.”
Morgan Sindall area director Cliff Kinch added: “We are incredibly proud to play our part in improving the health and wellbeing of people in Southampton by delivering a state-of-the-art outdoor sports centre which will breathe fresh life into the city and encourage untold numbers of people to stay fit and active. On the back of the success of St Mark’s School in Southampton, it’s great that we’ll be able to continue our fantastic work in the area with the same project team.”
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
