Sheffield leisure centres: New operator sought for sports facilities, including Ponds Forge and Ice Sheffield
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Sheffield City Council is advertising on a government contracts website, https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/, saying it is seeking “an experienced and qualified operator” to manage selected leisure centres, golf courses, The English Institute of Sport and Ice Sheffield.
The advert says: “This is an exciting opportunity for an organisation to partner with the council to manage key sporting and leisure facilities within the city.”
The successful bidder would work alongside the council to run a list of facilities from January 2025, following the decision to stop running the services through Sheffield City Trust, which has had major financial difficulties and had several council bailouts.
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Hide AdThese are Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, the English Institute of Sport, Ice Sheffield, Hillsborough Leisure Centre, Concord Sports Centre, Springs Leisure Centre, Heeley Pool and Gym and Beauchief, Birley Wood and Tinsley Golf Courses.
The contract makes no mention of entertainment venues Sheffield City Hall and the Utilita Arena that are also run by the trust.
From April 2026, the operator would also take over running Graves Health and Sports Centre, Thorncliffe Health and Leisure Centre and Wisewood Sports Centre. They are currently run by Places Leisure.
The contract would end on March 31, 2040.
The advert says that the operator will be expected to commit to a partnership approach and recognise the importance of working collaboratively with the authority in delivering the services.
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Hide AdIt adds: “The council has provisionally secured c£100m of capital funding to invest into the leisure estate with proposals over the term to replace three major leisure facilities in the city – Hillsborough, Concord and Springs – and make improvements to Ponds Forge.”