The Ravelin sports centre development

One of the UK’s most sustainable sports centres

Ravelin Sports Centre is an outstanding new public sports centre now open in Portsmouth. The £57M sports centre’s superb facilities include a 25m 8 lane swimming pool, 175 station fitness suite, climbing wall, ski simulator, café and community orchard set in historic parkland. Swimmers will have views from the pool of the natural green spaces outside, creating the feeling of open-air swimming in the park. The climbing wall, rising up through the centre of the building, from basement to roof, will set the challenge. A workout in the gym, virtual skiing or class with friends aided by the latest sports science technology will keep students, staff and the community on track.

Designed to the highest sustainability credentials for Sports Centres in the UK, this facility is aiming to be net zero carbon ready and has received a top rating of ‘Outstanding’ from BREEAM UK, the world’s leading sustainability assessment for buildings. The building can create renewable energy from roof solar panels and internal heat recovery systems. Pool water is re-used for toilet flushing and a new community orchard is part of a sustainable drainage system. Rooftop beehives and a wildflower amphitheatre events space will develop biodiversity in the surrounding areas.

Students, staff and local residents will all be able to enjoy the facilities. A range of classes and courses, personal training and very affordable membership with great benefits will be available. There will also be spaces for hire.

University of Portsmouth is investing £400M over ten years to create exceptional award winning facilities to enable innovation in learning, teaching and research for the future.
The Department of Sport and Recreation operates Ravelin Sports Centre and Langstone Sports Site offering health, fitness and sporting opportunities to University of Portsmouth students, staff, alumni and the local community. In addition, Sport and Recreation has over 30 student sports clubs that compete nationwide against other universities in a range of sports. Our focus is on personal relationships, personal development and personal best to encourage students and the community to achieve their goals. The department as well as offering health and fitness opportunities offers sports scholarships to talented athletes, providing development opportunities to students through coaching, mentoring and leadership training.

Adding to our services, swimming, climbing and our world-class ski simulator will bring a new strand of customers to ensuring Ravelin Sports Centre is the highest quality facility in Portsmouth. In addition, our extra service provision will ensure high quality events will become the norm at the University of Portsmouth.