Over the winter period, users of the University of Stirling Sports Centre faced disruption while improvement and enhancement work took place.
Brig can reveal that the total cost of the work was over £1 million.
In December 2021, Brig reported that some users found the new strength and conditioning suite ‘unusable’ due to the ‘sponginess’ of the floor.
At the time President of the Powerlifting Club Aaron Blackmore said: “It’s irritating how much the floor sinks beneath your feet when you try to squat or deadlift.
“It’s unfortunate because it’s a really well-equipped room which is unusable.”
This sentiment was echoed by many users of the gym.
The strength and conditioning suite was closed between Monday 12 December and Thursday 22 December to facilitate the replacement of the floor and reconfigure the layout.
Following an FOI request, Brig can reveal that the cost of the floor replacement was over £40k.
A spokesperson for the University of Stirling said: “In relation to the Strength & Conditioning flooring, and as confirmed in the previous enquiry, the original specification did not meet expected performance levels and we worked with contractors to replace the specialist flooring to provide users with the best possible experience.
“There were no safety issues with the flooring at any point.
“The University shared the cost of the replacement work with the contractors and paid £40k + VAT.”
Additionally, access to the swimming pool was significantly restricted from Monday 9 January to Sunday 29 January as refurbishment work took place to install a new floating floor and improve the changing area.
Further improvements were made in the Tennis Hall and Sports Hall 1.
The University of Stirling said: “The enhancement works undertaken in the Sports Hall, National Tennis Centre and National Swimming Academy are unrelated to the facility redevelopment project and form part of the University’s planned preventive maintenance programme.
“The cost of the recent works was £995k + VAT.”
The work comes less than three years after the new sports centre opened, costing an estimated £20m to build.
Featured Image Credit: University of Stirling
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