A new indoor swimming pool, spa and sports centre will open on 5 July 2014 after 26 months of construction work in the resort town of St Moritz, Switzerland. The Ovaverva is themed around the three states of water - gas, solid and liquid – with amenities including a wellness area, pools, a fitness centre, a cross country ski and outdoor sport centre and a restaurant. The 1,620sq m (17,437sq

A new £16m swimming pool and leisure complex has opened in South Shields, Tyne and Wear, six months later than originally scheduled. The Pier Parade project is part of South Tyneside Council’s regeneration plans. It was designed by LA architects and is being built by Graham construction. The new centre feature’s a 25m, eight-lane competition pool; an 18m teaching pool and leisure waters with flumes; sprays; bubble pools and water

The International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the International Association for Sports and Leisure Facilities (IAKS) have announced the winners of this year's international architectural awards for sports and leisure facilities. The prize-giving ceremony took place during the 23rd IAKS Congress in conjunction with the FSB event (International Trade Fair for Amenity Areas, Sports and Pool Facilities) in Cologne, Germany earlier this week. In total, three

Northampton Town FC chair David Cardoza has said plans to redevelop the club’s Sixfields Stadium are “the biggest thing which has ever happened to the club.” A planning application was submitted on 10 October, with the plans including an expanded west stand and a complete redevelopment of the east stand, with new corporate boxes and a conference centre. If planning permission is granted, work could begin as early as February

The world’s first ever Compact Athletics Facility (CAF), designed to allow track and field facilities to be built in places where there is limited space, has opened in Hackney, north east London. A joint initiative by England Athletics and Sport England, the £370,000 facility at Stoke Newington School includes a sprint straight, a long jump straight and pit, a high jump area, a throws area and a running trail around

A planning application for an £11m leisure centre in Washington has been unveiled by Sunderland City Council. The centre will include a six lane, 25m pool, a four court sports hall, a multi-purpose sports hall, two squash courts, sauna, steamrooms and relaxation area, a soft play centre and football pitches. A wellness centre will comprise a 100-station gym, spinning studio, exercise studio and two consultation rooms. Pellikaan Construction has already

Plymouth Argyle Football Club's (PAFC) chair James Brent has said the club will finally be able to shed its 'Cinderella status', following the approval of plans for a £50m regeneration of its Higher Home Park stadium. Plymouth City Council's planning committee gave its consent to the plans, which will see the aged venue turned into a regional hub for sport and leisure in South West of England. Brent hopes the

Japan's ability to organise and deliver on major projects and its fortitude in the face of a major challenge – as demonstrated by rebuilding after the tsunami and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster – is thought to have won it the 2020 Olympic bid. Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), stressed the importance to the IOC of ensuring the 2020 games is of the highest quality, saying: "Tokyo

Plans have been revealed to transform a 32-acre site in Kirkham, Lancashire into an £18m community sports, science and education centre. Plans for the Mill Farm site, drawn up by Frank Whittle Partnership, include a new 6,000-capacity home stadium for non-league AFC Fylde, a large indoor sports science building, a range of all-weather pitches for community use and a 63-bedroom hotel. There will also be a food store, a distribution

Queens Park Rangers Football Club (QPR) has begun initial talks over the possibility of building a new 40,000-capacity stadium. It's believed the club is looking into a site at Old Oak Common in West London – close to its current home Loftus Road, which has a capacity of 18,400 and has been deemed too small to fit in with QPR's plans of becoming a regular Premier League club. The club's

Construction work to transform the London 2012 Olympic Stadium into a permanent sports and cultural venue has begun at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. During the work the stadium's capacity will be reduced from 80,000 to around 60,000 and a new roof will be fitted, covering every seat in the ground and improving the venue's acoustics. New retractable seating will also be installed so the lower bowl can be protracted

Plans have been approved to build a huge indoor surf centre in Snowdon, north Wales. Surf Snowdonia will be built on the site of a former aluminium factory and will feature a 30,000sq m (322,000sq ft) Wavegarden lake, 14,000sq m (150,000sq ft) wakeboarding lake, waterslide, restaurant, retail and indoor play facilities. The attraction will also include accommodation, with low impact, sleeping ‘pods’ to be located along the lake’s waterfront. Larger

The architects who designed the pool at Sheffield's Ponds Forge have said that comments made by British Swimming – that the pool is 'too fast' – are a compliment. Earlier this week, Bill Furniss, head coach of British Swimming, said the pool at Ponds Forge "distorts swimmers' times" and that he's considering holding qualifying events for the Olympics and other major competitions elsewhere. Michael Hall, from architects FaulknerBrowns – the

Chinese billionaire Tony Fung’s A$4.2bn (US$3.75bn, £2.4bn) mega leisure development in Cairns, Australia has moved to the next stage, having been declared a ‘co-ordinated project’ – the first step in the Australian government’s planning approval process. The Aquis Resort at the Great Barrier Reef project would include nine luxury hotels, a 25,000-seater sports stadium, a casino and high-end retail space. The resort would offer 3,750 hotel rooms, 1,180 apartments and

Artist's impressions, claiming to show detailed plans for a new football stadium in New York, US, have emerged on the imgur.com photo sharing website. The plans purport to show the new home of the New York City Football Club (NYCFC) - a new franchise due to enter Major League Soccer (MLS) in 2015. NYCFC was announced as the MLS's 20th franchise in May 2013 and is a joint venture between

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Centre, Rugby's new leisure centre, is on track to opens its doors on 31 August. The new centre replaces the Ken Marriott Leisure Centre, which has been demolished after serving the town for 40 years. The centre, designed by B3 Architects, has been built on the site of the Ken Marriott Leisure Centre's car park. Facilities include two swimming pools, a 100-station gym, a climbing wall,

A design team has been appointed by Darwen Borough Council to deliver the £2.3m Witton Park Athletics Facility project, which is due to be complete in Spring 2014. The design team from Capita Symonds and Eric Wright Construction will be responsible for the project that aims to improve community sports facilities in the Borough. Home to Blackburn Harriers and Athletics Club; the new facility will include improved changing facilities, spectator

The Manila Arena in the Philippines is currently under construction, and upon completion, will claim the title of largest indoor arena in the world. Designed by architecture firm, Populous Melbourne, the 50,000-seat arena has been commissioned by Iglesia Ni Cristo (The Church of Christ) and aims to be unveiled in time for the church's centennial celebration in 2014. The projected cost is US$175m (£113m, €133m). Populous said the project presented

The AMI stadium at Addington in Christchurch, New Zealand won the Project of the Year Award at the Stadium Business Awards 2013. The NZ$30m (£15m, €17m, US$23m) stadium was built as a temporary solution after two devastating earthquakes in 2010/2011 left the city without any major outdoor gathering venue for sport and entertainment. Populous designed the 18,000 seat stadium at an existing sporting ground at Addington which was constructed in

Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas is redeveloping its college football facility, Kyle Fields to the tune of US$450m (£290m, €340m). The renovation and redevelopment is being undertaken by architects Populous and will see the venue's seating capacity increase from 82,589 to 102,500. New features in the design will include a brick, glass and limestone façade along with numerous plazas and walkways surrounding the stadium. Seats at the venue

Qatar, which will be hosting the FIFA 2022 Football World Cup, has expressed its interest in developing floating hotels as part of its accommodation solutions for the tournament. The luxury floating hotels developed by Finnish architectural firm, Sigge and partners Global Accommodation Management (GAM)/Almaco Group of Finland, will provide the same services and amenities available in hotels constructed on land. According to GAM, a floating hotel's design can be tailored

Denmark is the latest Scandinavian country to propose an indoor ski resort. The Skidome Denmark project, to be based in the city of Randers, proposes more than 3kms (1.8m) of indoor and outdoor slopes and a freestyle park. There are also plans for a hotel, restaurant and retail outlets on an area of just over 1m sq ft (93 000sq m). Danish architectural firm, CEBRA were responsible for the design

The new £31m Olympia pool in Dundee, Scotland, is about to open its doors as part of the ongoing investment into Dundee's waterfront. The new centre, which opens its doors to the public next week, features a 50m, variable depth pool, four water slides, a gym and a café. Two of the slides feature digital projection technology, meaning that the image will appear in front of the sliders face as

Hobart's major cricket venue, the Bellerive Oval - also known as the Blundstone Arena - is being upgraded to the tune of A$30m (£18,2m, €21,4m, US$28,5m). The project, which is being financed by the Tasmanian State Government and the Australian Federal Government, will see the oval's capacity increase to almost 20,000 seats from its current 16,000. The redevelopment will include the construction of a new western stand, a new concourse

Italian football club, AS Roma, has confirmed that the club's new stadium will be built on the Tor di Valle site located on the south-western outskirts of the city. The site lies on the banks of the Tiber River and is currently occupied by a racetrack which will be demolished. The 55 - 60,000 seater stadium was designed by sports and entertainment architect, Dan Meis, who said: "In 25 years

The new £20m (US$30.9m, €23.5m) Glass Mill Leisure Centre in Lewisham, south London, will open its doors on 10 June after 15 months of construction work. The new facility has been designed by LA Architects and will be operated by Fusion Lifestyle on behalf of Lewisham Council. The contractor for the project was Pellikaan, with additional work from Barratt Homes, who developed the 'Renaissance' theme. The new centre comes equipped

Construction work has begun on the Witham Leisure Centre in Essex. The £9.5m project is headed by Barr Construction and the facility - designed by Scott Brownrigg Architects - is due for completion in summer 2014. Once opened, the centre will be managed by Fusion Lifestyle. Facilities will include a six lane, 25m pool, leaner pool with moveable floor, a health and fitness suite, two dance studios, sauna and steamroom