City sports centre refit hailed a resounding success six months on

Sport Aberdeen has hailed a million-pound refit, carried out by The Pulse Group, a resounding success after the venue has seen a 465% increase in members since opening its doors to the public in January this year.

Get Active @Jesmond, cited as setting the ‘gold standard’ for community sport, was formally reopened with a glittering reception and ribbon cutting earlier this year.

Following a rigorous tender process, leading leisure solutions provider The Pulse Group were named as Sport Aberdeen’s Fitness Development Partner in 2015, with a view to upgrading four venues over the next five years as part of the registered charity’s wider modernisation plans.

Pulse Design & Build – the dedicated construction arm of The Pulse Group – was responsible for the complete renovation of the building, which has included the relocation of the reception and entrance foyer to allow for easier access to the centre. The sports hall was converted into a two-storey mezzanine gym, which has been kitted out with the latest equipment from Pulse Fitness’s award winning portfolio including CV, strength equipment and free-weights.

The facility also includes an immersive spin studio, a new aerobics studio and a virtual activity zone, which is one of the first of its kind to be installed in Scotland. Pulse Fitness has equipped the virtual activity zone with Trixter bikes, a Nexersys Ultimate Cardio Machine which offers full-body interval-training using boxing moves, as well dance mats, Eyeplay and a cardio wall.

Through the investment, Sport Aberdeen aimed to provide customers with a second-to-none health and wellness experience, delivering its commitment to creating opportunities, inspiring people and changing lives through sport and physical activity.

The overhaul underlines the registered charity’s fundamental goal: to provide first class fitness facilities within a community setting, breaking down barriers and allowing people of all ages and abilities to participate in sport and physical activity.

The modernisation has had a notable positive effect on the community with substantially more people, of varying ages and abilities, engaging in physical activity. Membership numbers prior to the investment sat at 255. Post refit Get Active @Jesmond currently has 1,442 live members, a 465% increase against the predicted 76% increase in membership take-up; 56% of which live within a 1-mile radius of the venue.

Keith Gerrard, director of operations and asset development, said:

“When embarking on this project we had a key objective to promote and increase opportunities for participation in sport and physical activity for everyone in Aberdeen, focussing on assisting the least active to become more active, resulting in an increase in participation of 1%.”

“The uptake in memberships has been astounding and to see the range of people participating in physical activity is brilliant. The Active Lifestyles and Active Futures presence is particularly encouraging, seeing this wider demographic engaging in sport ensures we are well on our way to creating an environment for people of all ages and abilities in Aberdeen to get active.

“Sport Aberdeen’s number one commitment is creating opportunities, inspiring people and changing lives through sport and physical activity. The Jesmond Sports Centre reflects the need of the local people and through our partnership with Pulse Fitness we can deliver a first-class experience within an inclusive community setting.”

Chris Johnson, managing director for The Pulse Group

“We’re absolutely delighted to have worked in partnership with Sport Aberdeen on this project to redevelop the Jesmond Sports Centre.

“We are pleased to see that this has resulted in such fantastic uptake in membership and this is a real testament to the efforts our team has made to ensure we offer Sport Aberdeen not only the right equipment mix, but also to create a facility that is modern and sustainable.

“The centre offers something for everyone, and we look forward to continuing our relationship with Sport Aberdeen, helping them to achieve their strategic aims.”

More like this…

View all