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Leisure centre

Site intended for leisure activities

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
1 min read
Source updated January 21, 2026

A leisure centre, sports centre, or recreation centre is a purpose-built building or site, usually owned and provided by the local government authority, where people can engage in a variety of sports and exercise, and keep fit.

01Typical facilities

Facilities typically include a swimming pool, a large sports hall, and a gym, and may include: aerobics studios, an indoor cycling studio, squash courts, a cafeteria, a licensed bar, outdoor grass and/or artificial pitches for football (soccer), hockey etc., a solarium, sauna and/or steam room. Some of its functions may overlap with that of a community centre.

Leisure centres are staffed by attendants who carry out a range of tasks to help and supervise the people using the leisure centre's facilities, and act as swimming pool lifeguards, gym instructors and coaches, offering advice, motivation, and expertise to users. Leisure centres are often operated by private companies on contract to the local authority.

Some leisure centres, particularly in Australia, are called aquatic centres, if their main facilities are pools for swimming, diving, and other aquatic sports.

02Leisure centres in England and Wales

Leisure centres are often operated by private companies or not-for-profit organisations operating under contract to the local authority, for example Kirklees Active Leisure is a charitable trust, and Greenwich Leisure Limited is a social enterprise. Examples of leisure centres in England and Wales include:

Current

Former

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Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Leisure centre”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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