Meadowbank opens its new doors to the public on Tuesday

The new Meadowbank Sports Centre will open to the public from 7.00am on Tuesday.

There will be little in the way of ceremony since the official opening will take place later in the summer, but it will be a welcome sight for those who regularly use the facilities and who have missed them while the old facilities were demolished to make way for a new £47 million stadium. The former Meadowbank closed in December 2017 when rebuilding began, but some delays were caused by the pandemic.

The running track has been resurfaced in readiness for athletes who train there and for any competitions on the horizon and there are state of the art facilities on offer to Edinburgh Leisure members.

Meadowbank is owned by The City of Edinburgh Council and managed by the charity, Edinburgh Leisure. The new state-of-the-art stadium and indoor facilities will support physical activity, sport, health, and wellbeing in Edinburgh for generations to come. At the same time it has been considered important to remember the legacy and heritage of the old Meadowbank built for the Commonwealth Games in 1970.

The new venue supports accessible participation and has improved indoor facilities including two multi-sport games halls with seating, three fitness studios and a gym with three times the number of exercise stations. There are car parking spaces and a two storey cycle store (photo below).

Edinburgh Leisure’s Chief Executive, June Peebles, said:“Donald Goldsmith, the manager at Meadowbank, and his team are incredibly excited (as I am) about this much anticipated opening and are looking forward to welcoming customers old and new to this multi-million-pound investment which will provide countless opportunities for Edinburgh citizens to be active and will undoubtedly contribute to the wellbeing of our city.”

Ms Peebles told The Edinburgh Reporter when we met her a couple of weeks ago that there was only a small snagging list left but a “huge clean”. Now all that work is done and the centre is ready for Edinburgh Leisure members and visitors. June said: “The old Meadowbank held memories for many people, but for anyone interested in physical activity in the city this is a big moment. The difference in the new building is that many of the facilities are purpose built for the activities. In the new Meadowbank there is state of the art equipment in a bigger gym for example. The activity mix is much the same but the quality of the facilities is very much improved.

The outdoor velodrome was lost after it fell into disrepair although Ms Peebles told us that it had actually lasted longer than anyone thought it would. She said: “Despite the fact that it was outdoor and open to the elements it lasted longer than anticipated. But the new Meadowbank is a regional facility and we are conscious that there is an indoor velodrome in Glasgow. There had to be compromises mainly due to the limitation on finances – although the council spent many millions here.

“it is hard to say if all of our old members will come back to Meadowbank. Some members found new Edinburgh Leisure places to go to. I am confident that people will come especially when they see the facilities here – but of course that causes a worry if people are leaving our other venues.

“But for me the big message is that this is a fantastic facility. It will make a huge contribution to the health and wellbeing of people in Edinburgh. It will allow people to develop in their own sports. My message is please come and see Meadowbank and come and use it. There are activities for everyone of all ages and stages and we are looking forward to seeing everyone.”

The basic facilities for track and throwing are in place, but some further infrastructure would be needed to run any Commonwealth Games in the future. Edinburgh Leisure’s Ageing Well programme might even use the track for some of their walking groups in a safe space with a view to using the café to socialise afterwards. The café is right at the front of the Meadowbank building is open to everyone, even if they are not using the gyms and halls.

Ms Peebles leads a team of more than 100 people at Edinburgh Leisure and their offices are now in Meadowbank. She said that she is delighted to be back in an office along with her colleagues who all have access to the gym and other facilities before and after work.

Council Leader Cllr Cammy Day said: “The City of Edinburgh Council Leader Cammy Day said: “We are delighted with the new Meadowbank Sports Centre – I believe it will be one of the best facilities for community and club sport in the country. I hope the fantastic and top of the range facilities will encourage people to get more active and more often. I was very impressed when I was given my first look and I’m confident members old and new will be too. 

“Participation and accessibility are at the heart of the centre, and it will bring huge physical, mental, and social benefits to generations of local people for years to come. There is a packed programme of activity and range of classes for all interests and ability. Meadowbank has been an iconic part of the Capital’s sporting history and I’m in no doubt that the new Centre will build on this legacy.”

sportscotland contributed £5 million to the financing of the new facilities. Chair, Mel Young, said: “Meadowbank Sports Centre has been a sporting and social hub for so many people in the Edinburgh area over the years. Thanks to this incredible £47million refurbishment, people of all ages and abilities will be able to reap the benefits of newly refurbished facilities. The re-opening of Meadowbank will provide the local community with access to a state-of-the-art sport and physical activity centre on their doorstep, creating significant participation opportunities. This collaboration between The City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh Leisure and sportscotland is a great example of partnership working developing genuine opportunities that will help make sport, and physical activity a way of life for local people.’’  

The new Meadowbank includes these facilities:

• An outdoor eight-lane athletics track with a 499-seat stand and outdoor throwing and jumps area
• A 60m six-lane indoor athletics track and jumps space
• Two multi-sport halls with fixed and moveable spectator seating
• A hall for trampolining and dance
• Two fitness studios (capacity – 30 each), which include world-renowned Les Mills programme of classes, smart tech bars and weights
  • The fitness class timetable will open with 92 classes
• A Cycle Studio (capacity – 30) with Life Fitness IC7 bikes and ICG myride and Les Mills RPM classes
• A gym with Life Fitness equipment, dumbbells up to 50kg, Watt bikes, SkiErg, row and Cybex SPARC machines (capacity – 90)
  • Combined bumped plates weighs in the gym – 2927.5kg
  • Combined dumbbell weight in the gym – 1,918kg
  • 40+ pieces of resistance and free weights equipment
• Two squash courts
• A combat studio for martial arts
• A boxing gym 
• Two 3G (synthetic) pitches, including one with a 499-seat stand
• A hospitality Suite and event-hosting facilities
• Cafe and meeting rooms

Opening times and how to buy memberships are available on Edinburgh Leisure’s website and social media.

The following companies were involved in the building project:
Contractor – GRAHAM Construction
Architect – Holmes Miller
Project Management – Thomas and Adamson
Quantity Surveyor – Gardiner and Theobald 
Building Services Engineer – RSP
Structural Engineer – AECOM
Landscape Architect – LDA