The University of Strathclyde’s new sports centre is on track to be ready for the start of the next term.

 

The £33m centre, which will become the home of the Sports Union and will have a whole host of new and improved facilities, is scheduled to open in time for Freshers’ Week in September.

 

The new centre sees the hub of sport at Strathclyde moving from John Street, where the Union and the Centre for Sport and Recreation are based, to Cathedral Street beside the Andersonian Library.

 

Habbi Liton, VP Sports and Wellbeing, said: “the sheer size of the building is amazing, there’s just so much more of everything; a bigger weights area, a bigger CV suite, and a second sports hall.”

 

He added: “there is a sauna/steam room physiotherapy rooms, and a much bigger pool.”

 

The 25m pool, which has a moveable floor for adjusting the depth, is something that has caught the attention of Strath Union President, Calvin Hepburn. He said: “I think the pool is the best feature of the centre, it will be great to go from having one of the worst university swimming facilities to one of the best.”

 

Liton is hopeful that the new centre can be a benefit to students across the board, he said: “It is going to work wonders with both elite athletes and sports teams. With the strength and conditioning provisions, training times, and sport-specific fitness sessions lined up for next year, I hope this will further strengthen the sports community that we already have.”

 

Both Liton and Hepburn will be moving on from Strathclyde in the summer but they still have their eyes on the new facilities. Liton said: If I’m in Glasgow after I finish up, I intend on using the new building.

 

Hepburn was quick to agree: “I’m beyond jealous [of next year’s students], I’m sure I’ll pop by as a graduate now and again.”

 

To find out more about Strathclyde sport and the new centre, go to the University website.