| South Leeds Stadium | |
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The grandstand at the South Leeds Stadium |
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| Full name | The John Charles Centre for Sport |
| Former names | South Leeds Stadium |
| Location | Beeston, West Yorkshire |
| Built | 1996 |
| Opened | 1996 |
| Capacity | 4,000 |
| Tenants | |
| Hunslet Hawks (1996-) | |
The John Charles Centre for Sport is a sports facility in South Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was previously named (and is still known locally as) the South Leeds Stadium and was renamed to honour John Charles (1931–2004), the former Leeds United, Juventus F.C. and Wales footballer. It is located to the south of Leeds city centre roughly on the border of Beeston, Belle Isle and Hunslet. The sports centre opened in 1996.
The stadium has been used by Leeds United for reserve matches, and since November 1995 by Hunslet Rugby League Club. It is the principal athletics stadium in the Leeds area and is the home of Leeds City Athletics Club. The sports complex also includes a tennis centre and indoor bowls and athletics centre. The stadium is one of the best available to clubs at Hunslet's level. The complex is comparable with the Gateshead International Stadium.
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The stadium is the home venue of Rugby League Championship club Hunslet Hawks. The facility also hosts several amateur Rugby League events.
When opened, the sports centre could only be accessed by car or on foot, at the end of a road serving a factory estate. Since the road was extended through to Belle Isle, one bus route, Service 481 Leeds – Wakefield has been re-routed, providing a direct service from Leeds city centre. There are regular buses running on Dewsbury Road from destinations including Huddersfield and the Kirklees, and Moortown.[1]
The centre is also served by rail with the Middleton Railway station at Park Halt providing limited access at weekends.
The Aquatics Centre opened on 29 October 2007.[2] The Olympic size swimming pool replaced previous facilities at the 40 year old Leeds International Pool, once notable for its brutalist architecture and prominent city centre position.
Two submersible booms built into the main pool enable it to be divided into three pools of different sizes and depths, allowing a flexible daily swimming programme. A floating floor allows the depth of the diving pool and 1/3 of the main pool to be varied from two metres to shallow water for teaching and 0–5 meters for the diving pool. As well as public swimming sessions, the pool hosts children's parties, sub aqua classes and swimming lessons. The centre is also suitable for national and international swimming and diving, with seating for 950 people overlooking the main pool and for 150 overlooking the diving area. The £16.5m centre also includes an aerobics studio and multi-use rooms.
The relocation of the city's main public swimming facilities to South Leeds attracted criticism. It left the city centre deprived of facilities and the new centre is difficult to reach for people without the use of a car. The South Leeds Stadium is also remote for people in north Leeds and outlying villages and towns, although other public sport facilities are available throughout Leeds.
The stadium is also used for gaelic matches for time to time. Teams from all over Yorkshire, Manchester and Ireland compete for a trophy every year
The tennis centre at John Charles Centre for Sport consists of 6 indoor pitches and 6 outdoor pitches. There is also a spectator balcony, changing facilities, meeting room, and cafeteria. The courts are available to hire on a pay and play basis and can be booked up to seven days in advance or eight days in advance by LEEDSCard holders. There are a wide range of tennis sessions available to adults and youths including coaching, individual lessons, social tennis, and competitive league opportunities.[3]
Yorkshire Rams have been playing their home games here since 2007 on Sundays. They regularly get crowds of up to 100–200 people,
The centre was used as the venue to count the general election votes in 2010 for all Leeds constituencies. Previously Leeds Town Hall was used for this purpose.
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