The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
New leisure centre is up and running
HUNDREDS OF people were making a splash in Glenrothes yesterday as the town’s new leisure centre opened its doors.
Customers were queuing from 6am to be the first to break a sweat in the £21 million Michael Woods Centre, six years after the building was first conceived to replace the old Fife Institute.
Aileen Gilbert from Glenrothes was first through the doors and first in the 25m pool. She said: “The new centre is fantastic. “I swim every day and have been using Bowhill Swimming Pool, so it’s great to have a facility back in Glenrothes.
“The pool and changing facilities are great — I will be using the centre regularly.”
The centre was originally due to open in April but was postponed due to tiling problems.
However, now up and running successfully, the new centre, complete with three pools, competition sports hall and gym, appears to have been worth the wait, according to customers.
Derek Paton was one of the first to use the new gym.
Clearly impressed by the facility, he said: “It’s great.
“When the Institute closed I was going through to Dunfermline or Cowdenbeath so this will save me a lot in petrol.”
Staff from the old Fife Institute were seconded elsewhere as construction of the new leisure centre took place.
Almost all of them have returned for the opening of the Michael Woods Centre, with additional members taken on to help manage the expanded programme of events.
Scott Urquhart, area manager with Fife Sports and Leisure Trust, said: “It has gone really well so far.
“The staff have put in a lot of hard work but it has turned out really well.
“The past 12 months have been hard going without the Institute, but we’ve been doing outreach work in Glenrothes so we have still been in touch with the community.
“The staff have been absolutely fantastic in that time and without them we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
Meanwhile, Kirkcaldy’s new £15 million leisure centre is set to open in September.
The development, on the town’s Esplanade, has also been delayed following issues with drainage.