Following the University’s interim management of the facility, the Sports Arena will be operated by the highly experienced leisure trust who will oversee the operational management of the University’s sports facilities and be responsible for expanding and promoting the community use (outside the core hours the Arena is used by the students) during the week and at weekends.
The University’s facilities provide an enormous array of sporting opportunities for the local community including a 12-court sports hall for team and racket sports, dedicated 3G football and rugby pitches as well as high-quality changing rooms and meeting spaces.
Freedom Leisure manage and operate more than 120 facilities across England and Wales, including leisure centres in the nearby Forest of Dean and the Cotswolds, and have a number of partnerships with both higher and further education providers where they develop not just sporting opportunities but wellbeing hubs that the whole community can access and enjoy.
We see this new partnership with University of Gloucestershire as a pivotal moment as we seek to increase participation in physical health and wellbeing across Gloucester. The facilities at the Arena are fantastic and making them available for community use shows that collaboration and partnership is key to moving physical activity and participation forward across the City. We look forward to working on a number of exciting projects with the University in 2024 and beyond. One of these will see Freedom Leisure working with the University on employment and development pathways for students to work at the facilities across Gloucester and further afield in the Forest of Dean, Malvern Hills and the Cotswolds.
Mark Learnihan
We know sports activities play an important role in supporting the mental and physical wellbeing of our students, staff and the local community, so we look forward to working with Freedom Leisure in continuing to provide access to high-class facilities that everyone is able to benefit from and enjoy.
Matt Tansley