It proved a talking point when first mooted.
A glowing structure sitting alongside a listed building at a busy junction – Huddersfield University’s new sports centre – faced opposition for its modern, striking, aluminium-clad design.
And last night people got the first chance to see the ring-road sports centre fully illuminated.
The LED-lit sports centre is now complete and the award-winning university teamed up with the Huddersfield Giants for a special claret and gold lights launch.
The £22.5m building, named Student Central, was illuminated to celebrate the Huddersfield Giants topping the Super League.
Coach Paul Anderson and star player Eorl Crabtree helped switch on the lights during a Christmas celebration hosted by the vice-chancellor, Prof Bob Cryan.
Prof Cryan said the event was a “fantastic way to end a fantastic year”.
He said: “It looks absolutely fantastic, I was determined to stay away while work was ongoing so I could see it right at the end in all its glory and it’s amazing.
“This shows we’re putting our students, staff and the community at the heart of what we’re doing.”
Prof Cryan said much of the controversy stemmed from the first image released of how it would look.
“It was a striking blue box and I think it put a lot of people off,” he said. “They didn’t realise that it could change colour, that we could use it to highlight the amazing things in the community, from the Giants to Huddersfield Town success and everything else.
“I hope the response is that people see that the university is doing something different and doing all it can to put Huddersfield on the map.
“This is a university that celebrates its town’s success and wants to highlight that.”
He added that in an “increasingly competitive university market the factor known as the ‘student experience’ is now more important than ever.”
The sports centre has been completed ahead of schedule – the original plan was for the building adjacent to Wakefield Road, opposite Sainsbury’s, to be open for business by Easter 2014.
Despite being one of the University’s most ambitious building projects yet on the campus, it will open ahead of schedule to students in January.
It includes state-of-the-art sport and leisure facilities including an eight-court sports hall, an 80-space fitness suite, squash courts and dance studios.
The Students’ Union is to be rehoused and students and staff will have a choice of four new food outlets and a larger shop. The top floor of the new building will have space for conferences and meetings.
Mr Cryan said there was more to come too: “The old sports centre will be demolished by April and we’re looking at a striking building for the prominent corner.”
He said talks were at an early stage for any proposal.
The lights show caps off a successful year for Huddersfield University – which was declared the University of the Year, it won two Queen’s Awards and the new 3M Buckley Innovation Centre opened.
