Community Hub tops out at Southampton’s Outdoor Sports Centre

A significant milestone has been reached at the £36m regeneration of Southampton's Outdoor Sports Centre, as Morgan Sindall Construction and Southampton City Council celebrated the topping out of the new Community Hub on Thursday 22 January.

Procured by Pagabo via The Major Works Framework, the project reached a key moment when representatives from Southampton City Council and Morgan Sindall Construction gathered for the ceremony, marking the completion of the building's main structure and celebrating the progress being made on one of the city's most important community sport and wellbeing projects.

Speakers at the event included Cliff Kinch, Area Director at Morgan Sindall Construction, and Councillor Toqeer Kataria, Cabinet Member for Communities and Leisure at Southampton City Council.

Since breaking ground in June 2025, substantial progress has been made across the 44-acre site, with the Community Hub now clearly taking shape as a focal point of the wider regeneration.

Once complete, the Community Hub will provide a modern, inclusive space for sporting clubs and the wider community.

Facilities will include a welcoming lobby and main reception, lift and stair access, administration offices, and a café with social and multi-use space opening out onto landscaped seating terraces and balconies.

The building will also feature a fitness suite, a multi-purpose room suitable for meetings, group exercise and wellbeing classes, as well as comprehensive changing and toilet facilities for teams, officials and visitors.

In addition, a new covered facility will incorporate tennis and netball courts, replacing some of the existing outdoor courts and encouraging year-round participation. These will sit alongside the centre’s existing nine outdoor tennis courts and seven netball courts, further strengthening its role as a regional hub for sport.

The development will also introduce new tree planting and landscaped terrace at first-floor level, including areas of green and brown roofs to enhance biodiversity.

Work continues across the wider site, with progress also advancing on the Family Zone development, upgrades to the athletics facilities, and enhancements to the Alpine Snowsports Centre. The overall regeneration remains on track for completion in early 2027.

The project is being delivered with investment from the Levelling Up Fund, Southampton City Council, Sport England and the Football Foundation, revitalising a sports centre that has served the community since 1938 while creating modern, accessible facilities for future generations.

Cliff Kinch, Area Director for Morgan Sindall Construction in the South, said:

Seeing the Community Hub structure now complete is a great development in the project – we're on step closer to finishing this wonderful facility that will serve Southampton's community for years to come.

The collaboration with Southampton City Council has been exceptional throughout, and it's been a privilege to work alongside a team so committed to delivering quality and value for local people.

Over the coming months, we'll see this building really come to life as the internal fit-out progresses and the other facilities across the site continue to take shape. The long-awaited transformation is well and truly underway.”