On This Day: Sheffield's showpiece shopping centre Meadowhall opened 33 years ago

Sheffield's showpiece shopping centre Meadowhall opened on this day 33 years ago.

September 4 1990 saw thousands of shoppers converge on what would prove to be our regional retail powerhouse.

Not only would it revolutionise South Yorkshire's shopping habits, but the £400m investment would put the Steel City on the map for retail and leisure far and wide.

Built on the former Hadfields' East Hecla steelworks and boasting 280 stores it was the UK’s second biggest shopping complex.

And it was an instant success, attracting 20m customers in its first year.

Since then innumerable stores have come and gone including a large Sainsbury’s, a Hamleys toy store, Debenhams, Top Shop, Top Man and Miss Selfridge. But there are no shortage of takers, with Sports Direct and Frasers the latest signing.

It was flooded in 2007, a few years ago it had a £60m refurbishment and it has delayed and downsized a huge extension three times. It has also resisted calls to charge for car parking.

Earlier this year, longstanding director Darren Pearce celebrated the stores that had been there since the beginning, including Greggs, Boots, Marks & Spencer, McDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut.

On its 33rd birthday, he said: “It’s brilliant to mark this anniversary and reflect on the central role Meadowhall has played in our local community over the last 33 years. The centre has evolved over time with plenty of new additions to our leading mix of fashion, lifestyle and homeware retailers, as well as our range of dining and leisure operators.

"We recently announced that Frasers and Sports Direct will be opening at the centre, and the Zara store is expanding, and we’re continuing to work hard to bring even more of the best brands and experiences to Sheffield. We look forward to sharing more new developments in the coming months.”