Page 30 - SN 4 July-Aug 2022 cover.indd

P LACES
SANDWELL
AQUATICS CENTRE
The only venue to be purpose-built for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Sandwell Aquatics Centre was completed in April 2022 – 100 days before the opening of the Games.
The Sandwell Aquatics Centre is the only new-build venue delivered for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. During the Games, it will be
the home to swimming, para swimming
and diving competitions from 29 July to 8 August. Hosting more than 60 events in total, it will be the stage for more medal moments than any other Birmingham 2022 venue.
A centre for everyone
Construction work on the £73m centre began in 2019. The facilities inside the impressive building – designed by Roberts Limbrick Architects – include an Olympic size 50m swimming pool, 10-metre diving board with 25m pool and “studio pool”. There is also
a health and fitness club with a 108-station gym floor, a 25-station ladies-only gym
area, an indoor cycling studio, three group exercise studios, a four-court sports hall, and saunas. Outdoor facilities include a full-size grass football pitch and changing facilities.
Housing one of only two competition- standard 50m swimming pools in the West Midlands, the centre will have
permanent seating for 1,000 spectators. During the Commonwealth Games, these will be supplemented with an additional 4,000 temporary seats, for a total Games-time capacity of 5,000.
After the Games, the venue will be reconfigured, the 4,000 temporary seats removed, and additional leisure facilities added before the centre reopens as a community facility in the summer of 2023. The main pool features a boom and a moveable floor, which means that the length and depth of the pool can
be varied, enabling a larger number of groups of all ages and abilities to use it.
Owned by Sandwell Council, in legacy mode the centre will be operated by Sandwell Leisure Trust. It will also be used by University of Wolverhampton students for teaching and
30 SPORTSNATION.ORG.UK
JUL/AUG 2022