NEW OPENING
JOHN WATERMAN – WILLMOTT DIXON PROJECT DIRECTOR
I
t’s always a balance between affordability and design when building tra-
ditional leisure facilities, but Surrey Sports Park has stepped up a gear in
terms of architecturally pleasing features. They’ve used their money well
A traversable boom separates the 50m and pushed the boundaries on sustainable design and operation.
pool, which can be used for regional events The facility has been awarded ‘very good’ status in its BREAM accreditation
(an international environmental assessment for buildings around the world),
early training in a 20m pool and it wasn’t which is an amazing feat for a building of this size.
until I got access to better facilities that Some of the unique features include:
my swimming career began to take off.” • wind catchers on the roof of the sports hall for natural air ventilation
Foster talks about high quality fa- • an energy-efficient, remote-controlled lighting system
cilities as one of three key elements for • a remote-controlled facility management system
creating international success in the pool, • a weather station on the roof which control opening sashes to the roof lights
as well as coaching expertise and role • a Biomass boiler, fueled by locally sourced wood pellets
models. He explains that building such • grey water (rain water) is used in the toilet flushing system
venues takes time and money, before
comparing the UK’s facilities with those
in America where he once trained. “Over Harborow expects a deal to be sealed range and plans are already afoot to
there, every major university has a with an as yet unnamed Premiership develop an indoor tennis centre and an-
50m pool and as a result every university Rugby Union side that plans to relocate to other for real tennis – a minority
is used as a training centre for the lead- the park. The two-lane 60m sprint track sport worldwide, but of historical
ing American swimmers.” will be built to international standard and interest locally – as phase two of the
Surrey’s outdoor facilities also reflect aimed at sports men and women return- project, on university land adjacent
the park’s multi-use ethos. Grass pitches ing to fitness after injury, rather than as to the current building.
are high enough standard for first-class a venue for competition. “It will support What’s most surprising about the park
cricket and international rugby and our fitness suite so athletes can take fit- however, is not the ambition of those
ness tests and do shuttles and sprints who run it or its potential, but the fact
during rehabilitation,” Harborow explains. it has been built at all. Unlike the USA,
Of the three all-weather pitches, two there is no widespread culture of the
are sand dressed for hockey and one UK investing in top-level sports facili-
3G pitch is ideal for top-level soccer and ties at its universities. Harborow explains
rugby. Supplier Spade Oak says the sur- that although lots of quango money
faces have a long pile and rubber-sand was promised it never materialised, so
mix in-fill with a shockpad option. The the university decided to use its own
integral cushioning effect of the crumb- resources to build the park. If things go
rubber infill, coupled with the long pile according to plan and the park becomes
gives the surface the characteristics of a one of Europe’s top sports facilities, it
well-maintained natural grass pitch. will have been money well spent. ●
Eight floodlit tennis courts and two
netball courts complete the outdoor Crispin Andrews is a freelance journalist
32 Read Sports Management online
sportsmanagement.co.uk/digital Issue 1 2010 © cybertrek 2010
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