The building of the University Sports Centre began in 1963 and was opened in 1966.
The Walter Harding Gymnasium which had previously accommodated University sporting activities has had to be demolished to make way for the extension of the Student Union.
The building was designed by the architect Denys Laasdun. The two main spaces were the Swimming Pool and Sports Hall, planned on either side of a central core which contained the smaller sports areas, the changing rooms. vertical circulation and ventilation plant rooms.
The roofs of the main spaces are carried on steel trusses supported by prestressed, precast concrete columns along the perimeter and by the reinforced concrete core at the centre. The external finishes are precast concrete slabs and 'Prolift' vertical glazing units.
Left: D71/24/30/5 - Sports Centre exterior, Bedford Street North
Right: D71/24/30 - Sports Centre exterior, Bedford Street North
Facilities included:
- A six-lane swimming pool measuring 110 feet by 48 feet with a spectators' gallery and a diving end complete with a five metres fixed board and one and three metres spring-boards.
- A 120ft by 64ft sports hall to accommodate a wide range of sports including tennis, basketball, netball and badminton.
- Four Squash Courts
- Three smaller rooms specifically designed for dancing and fencing, judo and weightlifting.
Facilities such as a learners pool, combat room, practice cricket wicket and miniature rifle range were omitted from the final design.
Left: A243/3/3 - University Sports Centre interior
"Mountaineers, it seems, are running out of mountains. Now at Liverpool they have gone indoors". As reads the headline of an article published in The Observer in 1967 regarding the opening of the climbing wall.
The piece continues, "the climbing wall was the idea of Bill Slater, ex-Wolves and England footballer and now director of physical education. He saw it as a means of teaching beginners in comfort with no worries of accidents and to keep the experienced men in trim". Whatever the "purists" may feel, the article concludes, the wall has proved very popular with students.
D832/1/3 - Cutting from The Observer newspaper
Physical recreational activities have been available to the student body at Liverpool almost from the foundation of the University College in 1881. At the time of the Sports Centre opening other facilities were also available to students, such as a gymnasium in Grove Street and Geoffrey Hughes Athletics Grounds at Wyncote.
Student and inter-departmental sport clubs have always been a big part of the university life with various tournaments taking place on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Left: A268/3/1 - Ruby Dixon, Mrs Jean Settle, and Mrs Ann Bell outside the Sports Centre
Right: D71/24/30 - Sports Centre, Bedford Street North
While the Sports Centre itself looks almost the same as it did years ago, the public realm around the building has drastically changed over time as more emphasis has been placed on greenery and pedestrian movement on campus.
Left: D71/24/31 - Students Union, Bedford Street North
Right: P5308/28 - Aerial view of University Precinct
"Running for Liverpool" [1984-1987]
A video depicting a day in the life of four University of Liverpool undergraduates. That day, of course, included use of the Sports Centre.
Scenes include: a fun run around the city of Liverpool; a climber on the climbing wall, dancers in a studio, and a football match within the University Sports Centre; teaching sessions taking place across the campus; and socialising and music in the Guild of Students.
D980/3 - Film: Running for Liverpool