A new £16m swimming pool and leisure complex is set to open in South Shields, Tyne and Wear in early 2013. 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. It will feature a 25m, eight-lane competition pool; an 18m teaching pool and leisure waters with flumes; sprays; bubble pools and water play. The

ASR Limited, the New Zealand-based company that built the Boscombe surf reef in Dorset, has ceased trading. The liquidation of ASR casts doubts over the future of the site as a surfing attraction - the only artificial surf reef in Europe. Plans for the beleaguered £3.2m reef first surfaced in 1999 when Bournemouth Borough Council gave the green light for a feasibility study to be conducted on the project. Detailed

The Japan Sport Council has shortlisted 11 architects to redesign Japan's new 80,000-seat Kasumigaoka National Stadium. The stadium will need to be complete in time for the country's staging of the 2019 Rugby World Cup and as part of Tokyo's bid for the 2020 Olympic Games. The finalists include Olympic stadium designers Zaha Hadid Architects and Populous. The competition, which received a total of 46 applicants, restricted entry to practices

A new environmentally friendly spa and leisure centre is set to open at Portavadie Marina in Loch Fyne, Scotland by the end of 2014. Architects Stewart Associates has been appointed to design the centre, which will be powered using local sustainable technology. The project, still in the planning stages, is expected to include spa facilities, outdoor and indoor swimming pools, a gym, an exercise studio and a soft play area.

More than 100,000 visitors attended the opening weekend of Glasgow's new Emirates Arena. The sports arena, which opened its doors on 5 October, will play host to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. The 10.5-hectare arena is located beside the Commonwealth Games Athletes' Village and the Celtic Park. It will include an indoor sports arena, three sports halls with 12 badminton courts, four outdoor five-a-side football pitches, an outdoor 1km cycle

Image: Work on the complex began in June 2012 The £18m Portway Lifestyle Centre in Oldbury, West Midlands is on track to open in August 2013, despite delays in construction work due to poor weather conditions over the summer months. The centre will replace the Oldbury Leisure Centre in Sandwell. Facilities will include a sports hall, hydrotherapy pool, a gym and weights area and dance studio. There will also be

Plans for an £11m leisure centre and swimming pool in West Bromwich are underway following the signing of a contract between Sandwell Council and DC Leisure. DC Leisure will design, build, manage and maintain the town centre complex, due to open in summer 2014. The leisure centre will have a 25m pool with a learner pool, a sauna and steamroom, a four-court sports hall, a 100-station fitness suite, two dance

Texas architects HKS Sports & Entertainment Group have been appointed by the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority and the Minnesota Vikings to design the new $975m (£600m, 750m euro) Minnesota Vikings Stadium. Scheduled to open for the 2016 football season, the stadium will host major football events, as well as community events. HKS were chosen on the back of their successful NFL stadiums in Dallas and Indianapolis, as well as their

Rapper Jay-Z kicked off the party to launch Brooklyn's new stadium last Friday, 28 September. The 18,000-seat Barclays Center is home to the Brooklyn Nets basketball team and will also be a major music venue. This is the first time in 55 years that the borough has had its own major professional sports team, which will bring great economic benefits to the area. Located in a busy shopping area, which

Image: AFC is seeking a new site after the Calder Park plans were voted down by the council Aberdeen Football Club (AFC) has said it has received several expressions of interest in providing a site for a new stadium. The club was forced to restart its search for a new home after plans to build a 21,000-seater ground at Calder Park in the south of the city collapsed last month.

Wirral Council has launched its vision for an international golf resort in Hoylake. The council is currently seeking potential developers it could partner with on the project, which - according to initial plans - would include a signature golf course and a luxury spa hotel with extensive wellness, leisure and restaurant facilities. There is currently no such resort in the area and a recent report by consultants Capita Symonds suggests

The City of Regina, in Canada, has unveiled new stadium plans to replace the existing Mosaic Stadium, one of the oldest buildings in the Canadian Football League. The 33,000-seater stadium has been inspired by the prairie sky and includes a sunken bowl design, a spectator roof to protect fan and louvers to control the wind. Fans will have improved comfort thanks to individual seats, with better views. To cater for

A new and improved leisure centre is set to replace the ageing Scartho Swimming Pool in Grimsby by 2014. North East Lincolnshire Council (NELC) has approved plans for the new facility which will include an eight-lane, 25m pool, a separate learning pool and a heath and fitness club. As part of the council's commitment to build a legacy following the 2012 Games, local disability groups have been consulted about the

Image: Plans include a new pool at Garstang Wyre Council has backed plans to invest £7.4m in the borough's leisure centres. The improvements will include the creation of an extreme sports facility at Thornton Leisure Centre, a luxury day spa facility and dance studio at Poulton Leisure Centre and an upgraded centre and new swimming pool at Garstang leisure centre. The plans follow a comprehensive review of leisure provision, which

Image: The complex will include a 7,000-capacity stadium and 17 full-size pitches Manchester City Football CLub (MCFC) has unveiled details of its plans to develop a new £100m training and education complex next to its Etihad Stadium. BAM Construction, part of the Royal BAM Group, has been selected to build the 80-acre City Football Academy which will include a 7,000-capacity stadium, 17 full-size football pitches, an academy building with classrooms,

Image: Johnson will personally oversee the Olympic Park's legacy plans London Mayor Boris Johnson has taken over the chairmanship of the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC). The announcement follows news that Johnson moved Daniel Moylan, who'd only been chair of LLDC since June, to spearhead a new aviation policy unit. Making the announcement, Johnson said the Olympic Park and the continued regeneration of east London were "top priorities" and ones

Image: HNW Architects designed the new centre The Leadbitter Group has started work on a new leisure and community centre in Midhurst after being named as Chichester District Council's (CDC) preferred contractor. Midhurst Community and Leisure Centre and Library Development is being fronted by the local authority, with funding from West Sussex County Council and The Monument Trust. Due for completion in 2014, the new HNW Architects -designed centre will

Image: The stadium will be located at Burswood Western Australia's (WA) Liberal-National state government has set out the masterplan for Perth's new stadium and a surrounding recreation precinct on the Burswood Peninsula. International design firm Populous has already been appointed to work on the design of the complex, with the state investing AU$375m (US$3890m, EUR309m, £246m) of funding. The masterplan will provide a planning framework for the precinct and reflects

Image: The project is on time and on budget Kirkcaldy's new multi-million pound leisure centre is "on target" to open to the public in July 2013, with work on the building's steel structure now having been completed. Graham Construction is responsible for delivering the project, with B3 Architects acting as lead consultant and joint architects with Cre8 Architecture. Work started earlier this year. It is anticipated the new Kirkcaldy Leisure

Image: FaulknerBrowns Architects designed the arena Multi-million pound plans to build a new velodrome and sports centre near Derby's Pride Park Stadium have been given the green light by the Environmental Agency. In a statement, the organisation said it was satisfied with the plans to build the centre on a former landfill site. The approval clears the final hurdle for the £28m facility, which will include a 250m cycling track.

Image: Meis' work includes Los Angeles' new NFL stadium Woods Bagot has announced that sports and entertainment architect Dan Meis has been appointed global director of its new design group, Woods Bagot Sport. In his new role, Meis will expand his Los Angeles, US-based team to incorporate design and technical experts located in New York, US; London, UK; and Sydney, Australia. The new group will continue with Meis' current projects,

A design team has been appointed to work on the construction of a new 60,000-seat national stadium for football and athletics on a 60-hectare (148-acre) site in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Designsport and the Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (LAVA) have been appointed to design the venue in conjunction with Ethiopia-based JDAW Consulting. Construction work is due to start in 2014, with the development also to comprise an athletics track; an aquatic

Image: Squash courts will be among the new facilities A second stage of development work has now commenced at Aston University's Doug Ellis Woodcock Sports Centre in a bid to further enhance the institution's sporting provision. Speller Metcalfe has been awarded the £3.2m contract to complete a final phase of structural works at the Grade II-listed building, as well as to build a new facility linked to the centre. The

Image: The roof will boast a 'sports landscape' Chinese design practice Bin Lu Architecture (BLUA) has completed work on a new urban concept masterplan for the development of a new sports complex in west Hangzhou. Plans for the 72,700sq m (782,536sq ft) Hangzhou Civic Sports Center scheme have been drawn up on behalf of Hangzhou Sports Development Group. The development - inspired by the Olympic flame - has also involved

The proposed development of a new multi-million pound sports and entertainment arena near Derby's Pride Park stadium has moved forward. Members of Derby City Council's (DCC) cabinet have approved the appointment of Bowmer and Kirkland as the preferred contractor for the scheme, with Morgan Sindall named as reserve contractor. The Derbyshire-based firm held off competition from four rival bidders for the contract, which included BAM, Galliford Try and Interserve. Designed

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council (RCBC) has moved forward with efforts to offload the site of the town's existing leisure centre at Majuba Road and Lobster Road. It comes as specialist drilling machinery returns to the site of a replacement facility, which is being built as part of a new £31m leisure, business support and community complex. Members of the council's cabinet resolved to proceed with a marketing process detailed