40th Anniversary
SPORTS CENTRE CELEBRATES ITS 40th ANNIVERSARY
Basingstoke Sports Centre is celebrating 40 years of providing top quality sports and leisure facilities to local residents.
The centre opened its doors on July 22, 1970, although it was officially opened by The Duke of Edinburgh accompanied by Prince Charles in December of that year.
Since then, the centre has received over 20 million individual visits and taught more than 100,000 people to swim. After a programme of modernisation and expansion over the past decade, the centre's seven floors now offer 72,000 square feet of space, making it one of the largest indoor sports facilities in the South of England.
These days, sports centres can be found in almost every town, so casual users could be forgiven for thinking that the Basingstoke centre is simply a local or national government-funded facility. In fact, the centre owes its existence to a remarkable effort by the local community.
Back in the late 1960s, only one town - Harlow in Essex - had a purpose-built sports centre. Led by local aristocrat Lord Porchester, a plan was formulated to build the UK's second such facility in Basingstoke. The stated aim was to build the best sports and leisure facility in the country, in order to bring together local residents and recently-arrived Londoners who had re-located under the government's London Overspill scheme.
What followed was one of the most successful fund-raising efforts in the town's history. Through sponsored events - including a Lands End to John O'Groats walk - and donations from local businesses, the Basingstoke community raised a remarkable £222,000 towards the eventual £675,000 cost of building and equipping the new centre. The balance of the cost came from the local authority, along with a grant from central government.
Since opening, the centre has been managed by a charitable trust which was formed in 1969 with members drawn from the local business community.
As well as getting what was then the best sports centre in the country, Basingstoke residents also found themselves with a new concert venue (long before The Anvil was built), as a host of well-known names - including Stéphane Grappelli and Yehudi Menuhin - played to packed houses in the centre's giant sports hall.
These days, Basingstoke Sports Centre still offers some of the best sports and leisure facilities in the country. A massive programme of improvement and refurbishment over the past five years has brought new gyms, exercise studios, a children's créche and play area and a licensed café, while the centre's 25-metre pool was completely re-developed in 2007, with Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council funding the £2.6 million project.
As well as its comprehensive facilities, the centre also offers a fantastic range of fitness activities, from pilates and body sculpting, to TaiChi, yoga and Cuban Salsa dancing.
The centre's popular Bistro café is re-opening with extended opening hours as the PS Lounge, offering healthy food and drink options, including delicious protein shakes.
To celebrate its anniversary, the centre is currently offering a special gym membership package at just £19.50 per month, as well as other special offers throughout the year.
The centre is also holding an open weekend on 16 and 17 October.
Steve Combes, Chief Executive of the trust for the past 25 years, says: "The aim of the centre is to encourage people to keep active and fit through sports or other activities. It gives us great pride to offer this in a first class facility which was built by the local community.
"We want to repay the commitment shown by the people of Basingstoke over 40 years by continually progressing the level of facilities we offer."
