North East & Yorkshire

£9 million York Sport Village is on track for success

York Sports Village

The development of a brand new campus at the University of York has seen the creation of a state-of-the-art sports village.

The £9 million York Sport Village project has been jointly funded by the University and the City of York Council, with support from Sport England. As part of a master plan for the University’s Heslington East campus, the village will boast a competition-standard eight-lane 25-metre pool and a training pool.

Further facilities will include a 120-station fitness suite; three studios for dance, spin and aerobics; a full-sized 3G Astroturf pitch and three further five-a-side pitches. All of the facilities will be available for use by students, staff and the public.

Main contractor for the project is Sir Robert McAlpine and the architect is Space Architects.

Professor Cantor from the University of York said:

“York Sport Village will be a superb sporting asset for our students and for everyone in the city. It reflects our commitment both to enhance our students’ experience at a world class University, and to contribute to the health and well-being of people throughout the city.

“Our sports and recreational facilities for students, staff and the community are already outstanding, and York Sport Village will take them to an even higher level.”

Councillor Sonja Crisp, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Social Inclusion, added:

“York Sport Village will provide a state of the art facility for residents across the city and I’m delighted that work has started in this, an Olympic year. We know that an active lifestyle brings a wide range of long term benefits and I hope that people of all ages will enjoy the fantastic facilities on offer at the site.”

York Sports Village

The stunning York Sport Village has incorporated coloured metal cladding panels with resin-faced architectural blocks in light blue and dark grey-blue. Featuring extensive glazing throughout, the centre also celebrates metallic silver standing seam roof that curves down gracefully from the double-height space above the pool hall.

A large overhang shades the glazed façades from the sun, whilst the pool boasts unrivalled views of the surrounding countryside. Interestingly, the first-floor gym can be seen clearly outside the building – providing a tantalising glimpse of all of the sporting activities on offer.

David Coundon, Space Architects, said:

“This is a landmark building in a prominent position; it is important within the campus and very visible from outside the campus – most noticeably from the A64 and A1079. As a result, the building not only satisfies its purpose as a sports and leisure centre, but also serves as a landmark for both the university and the city.

“This has been a great opportunity for us to work with an innovative client who has both the vision and the know-how to create a truly magnificent development. It is a prestigious building with high quality finishes – both inside and out – and we have managed to achieve this with a relatively modest budget. As a company, we are very proud to be involved with this fantastic new building for the University of York.”

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