New Leisure Centre goes up in Bradford

By Miriam King Bradford Times November 25 2010
For months, the focus has been on Bradford’s new Library & Cultural Centre. The Leisure Centre has been slower to get underway.
Now, the structural steel is going up, and the massive building designed by architects Salter Pilon + Lett – about 158,000 sq. ft. containing 2 full-sized ice pads, numerous change rooms, an aquatics centre with 3 pools (including an 8-lane competitive lap pool), fitness centre, 8,816 sq. ft. gym, indoor running track, multi-purpose meeting rooms and child-minding centre – is beginning to dominate the landscape.
Director of Leisure Services Tom Graham took the co-chairs of the Centre’s Vitality! fundraising campaign, Kenn Voss and Scott Tupling, Community Campaign chair Neil Rombough and Program Co-ordinator Yvette Kramer on a guided tour through the construction zone, November 19.
Graham pointed out the location of future hallways, offices and change rooms, handicapped-accessible washrooms, the reception area, pool area, the rinks and bleachers – and a donor wall, where the names of individuals and organizations that contribute $1000 or more to the fundraising campaign will be on display.
On the day of the tour, crews were busy lifting structural steel into place, constructing the “spine” that will connect the “cold” side of the building (ice rinks), with the “warm” side (fitness rooms, aquatic centre) – and building the masonry walls that will enclose the Leisure Centre
Graham spoke about the bleachers that will be in place at the ice rinks, at pool-side, in the gym and fitness area; the energy-saving features and use of natural lighting; and the efficient design, that maximizes use of space. The change rooms, for example, are 500 sq. ft. in size – bigger than the existing 300 sq. ft. rooms, and with more amenities – and are tucked into the space between the two rinks.
The Director of Leisure Services also spoke of the benefits of expanding and combining all of the facilities under a single roof. There will no longer be a need for Leisure Services to schedule programs at various schools around town, struggling with the School Boards’ timetables and availability. “This way, we can schedule our own programs,” he said – including after-school programs for students at nearby Bradford District and Holy Trinity High Schools.
Construction should “be another 14 months,” Graham noted – but scheduling and planning are already underway. “We have to get prepared for a lot of things,” he said, from programming, to membership costs, to the final furnishings and equipment needed, before the Centre can open its doors to the public early in 2012. Requests for Proposals, for the new Pro Shop and the Concessions, should be going out in the spring.
The Vitality! Campaign has raised nearly $1.2 million for the new Leisure Centre to date, throug donations and “naming” opportunities.
Opportunities still available include $350,000 to name the main rink, with seating for over 700; $250,000 to name the “practice” rink; and only $250 to name a seat in the bleachers, in honour of a loved one, co-worker, family worker or friend. “It’s a great Christmas gift,” said Kramer.