It may be all over when it comes to the rebuilding, the cleaning, the restoration and the transformation but for Bury St Edmunds Leisure Centre the official opening ceremony is the start of a bright new future. And who better to open it than one of the world's greatest sporting legends, Sir Geoff Hurst.
Sir Geoff is the only footballer to have scored a hat-trick in a World Cup final and in 2006, 40 years after his goalscoring heroics clinched victory, he will be cheering England on as the team bids to repeat the feat. But before then, he will be following the footsteps of his England Manager, Sir Alf Ramsey, who officially opened the Bury St Edmunds Leisure Centre when it first opened its doors to the public in 1975.
St Edmundsbury Borough Mayor, Cllr Stefan Oliver, will be joining Sir Geoff for the official opening, along with many guests, including Bury St Edmunds MP David Ruffley. SGR FM will have a roadshow on site and there will also be a huge range of activities available free throughout the day for families to enjoy. They include free squash, exercise classes, junior athletics, racket sports, multisports, archery, basketball, dance, a sports wall challenge, girls' football demonstration and swimming pool sessions.
St Edmundsbury has invested £6.5 million in rebuilding and improving the leisure centre since the fire in September 2004. Thousands of people have already streamed through the doors since it first opened last month and there has been an overwhelmingly positive response to the new swimming pool, state-of-the art fitness facilities and many other improvements.
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Contact: Alison Bowyer, Abbeycroft Leisure, 01440 765123.
ISSUED BY MARIANNE HULLAND, COMMUNICATIONS UNIT, ST EDMUNDSBURY BOROUGH COUNCIL. Tel 01284 757034. marianne.hulland@stedsbc.gov.uk
