Constructed in 1975 and opening in 1978, Crowtree Leisure Centre holds a great deal of memories for me and probably for the vast majority of Sunderland people. Sunday morning visits to the swimming pool and saturday afternoons at the ice rink in my teen years, the leisure centre was a haven of activity during its heydays in the 80s and 90’s.
I remember watching Steve Davis play in the 1995 Skoda Grand Prix one afternoon there with my Dad.
Since closing fully last year to make way for improvements and extensions to the Bridges shopping centre, the demise of Crowtree has received mixed reactions from the general public… some saying it was an eyesore and high time it went, whilst others were siding more on the sentimental value of the place, its memories for them and how it should have been kept open for the youth of today to have somewhere to go.
I first went back there soon after it closed last year, but with ‘on the ball’ security and the fact the place was pretty sealed tight… I didn’t venture more than a few rooms and corridors, the cafe before the inevitable “throwing out†occurred.
Fast forward a year, the place is now stripped and has about 35/36 weeks of work left to do on it. Visited on a few occasions, solo and with Stranton.
I remember watching Steve Davis play in the 1995 Skoda Grand Prix one afternoon there with my Dad.
Since closing fully last year to make way for improvements and extensions to the Bridges shopping centre, the demise of Crowtree has received mixed reactions from the general public… some saying it was an eyesore and high time it went, whilst others were siding more on the sentimental value of the place, its memories for them and how it should have been kept open for the youth of today to have somewhere to go.
I first went back there soon after it closed last year, but with ‘on the ball’ security and the fact the place was pretty sealed tight… I didn’t venture more than a few rooms and corridors, the cafe before the inevitable “throwing out†occurred.
Fast forward a year, the place is now stripped and has about 35/36 weeks of work left to do on it. Visited on a few occasions, solo and with Stranton.
Didnt take an external, as the place isnt exactly 'pretty' on the outside(!) but here's one from a local data search site: -
Roof walkways: -
Sauna: -
Roof walkways: -
Sauna: -
Spectators area for bowling: -
Island in the pool: -
Plant machinery: -
Diving pool: -
Checkers cafe: -
All in all, it was as stripped and poor as I thought it would be by now, but it was still a nice trip down memory lane for me
Cat.
