£100m Vision For Sport Facilities Unveiled

£100 million plans have been unveiled to create new sports and wellbeing hubs and a multi-use island sports stadium by the end of 2032.

The hubs are due to be based at Les Quennevais, Le Rocquier, and in St Helier. 

UK-based consultancy firm Knight, Kavanagh, and Page (KKP) have been carrying out a consultation over a number of weeks on providing the facilities sports clubs need - to, in turn, encourage more islanders to become more active.

The government has previously set a target of increasing physical activity in Jersey by 10% by 2030.

The consultation highlighted the urgent need to find a permanent solution for Jersey netball, as they will have to leave Les Ormes by 2023.

More swimming pools, two sites for gymnastics, and island stadium accommodating football and rugby, and a permanent site for beach volleyball were also identified as programmes of work to pursue.

A mixed-use sport and wellbeing hub is proposed at Le Rocquier, near the school, which would include:

• Eight badminton court sport hall with retractable seating
• Full size 3G pitch
• Specialist gym facility
• 100 station fitness suite
• 40-person aerobics studio
• 20-bike spin studio
• 20-person holistic studio
• Martial arts dojos
• Three squash courts
• Creche
• Ancillary facilities like a cafe and changing room

The government says the Les Quennevais site will be a focal point for a range of services to come together for the health and wellbeing of islanders.

It would replace the existing, ageing facility and include:

• 8 lane, 25m swimming pool and teaching pool with seating to hold competitions.
• 100 station fitness suite
• 40-person aerobics studio
• 20-person spin studio
• Martial arts dojo
• 8 court sports hall
• Full size, floodlit 3G football pitch
• Gym
• Two squash courts
• Nursery with outdoor play area

The planned St Helier hub would work as a town centre site in co-ordination with the Jersey Development Company as part of its Waterfront development plans, which includes a leisure facility.

A different site would be found in town if this proposal fails.

• This site would include:
• An 8 lane, 25m swimming pool and large teaching pool
• 1,250m of health and fitness facility space
• A 50-person main aerobics studio
• A 30-bike spin studio
• A 20-person holistic studio (e.g. pilates and yoga)
• Martial arts dojo
• Cafe/vending area

The ambition for the island stadium for football and rugby is to have a hybrid grass and plastic merge pitch like Wembley and Murrayfield.

It could hold around 2,500 fans with covered standing and seating.

Commercial facilities would be included to allow events and concerts to take place there. Snooker, billiards, and darts could be played at the stadium too.

Springfield Stadium will stay as the home of football until any island stadium is built. The hope is to then redevelop it into a more community wellbeing facility, given the lack of nearby green space, which would include:

• A bigger health and fitness suite
• Three group fitness studios
• A new children's soft play facility
• Two floodlit 3G five-a-side pitches to create a bigger park area.
• Improved car parking

Sports clubs in Fort Regent have been forced to look elsewhere for new homes because the building is ageing and needs redeveloping.

The government says they need to leave by the end of next year - and has proposed expanding Oakfield Sports Centre and Springfield Stadium to allow these clubs to move there in the short-term.

They will then move on to the other facilities such as Le Rocquier and Les Quennevais when they are ready.

The existing sports hall at Oakfield would be converted to a permanent gymnastics facility, outdoor netball courts would turn into a 12-court badminton frame and fabric facility.

A layout of the netball courts.

A layout of the gymnastics hub.

For Springfield, the fitness suite would be transformed into a studio space and spin studio, the sports hall would be converted to a fitness suite, and the play area would move closer to the ball court area.

The proposed timeline for this programme would start with the Springfield and Oakfield plans to allow sports clubs to leave Fort Regent by June 2022.

The Les Quennevais project would take the longest, with the aim to complete this ambitious project by the end of September 2032.

A website has gone live today, which the government says will be used to update islanders on progress.

A six-week consultation has also started today to get islanders feedback on the plans and their ideas for future sporting facilities across the island.

"Sport plays a vital role in Island life, so I am thrilled to present our long-term aspirations for increasing sporting activities and developing our sporting industries on the Island.

"We also want to focus on improving both the mental and physical health of Islanders, which is particularly important due to the impact of Covid-19 and our suggested state-of-the–art sport and wellbeing hubs, will focus on just that.

"More than 80% of children and over half of adults in Jersey do not meet the WHO’s guidelines for physical activity and in order for us to achieve our goal, it is essential to provide affordable facilities that meet the needs of Islanders and our sporting clubs and associations.

"Of course the pandemic has had a massive economic impact and so before committing to these plans, we need to have a conversation with the Island to take into account everyone’s view about the best fit of sporting facilities for the Island and this strategy provides an excellent starting point for discussion." - Deputy Hugh Raymond, Assistant Minister with responsibility for sport.