Portsmouth Pyramids Centre
Encyclopedia
The Portsmouth Pyramids Centre (also known as the Pyramids) is an indoor leisure complex in Southsea
, near Portsmouth
, Hampshire
, England
.
It has a swimming pool
/water park
, a live arena, and function rooms. The function room, located next door to the indoor leisure complex, is, along with the Portsmouth Guildhall
and The Wedgewood Rooms
, a popular venue for live music.
Artists that have performed at Pyramids Centre include Roger Taylor
, Feeder
, lostprophets
, You Me At Six
, Bring Me The Horizon
, Example
, The Darkness, Arctic Monkeys
& Gallows
.
Tickets for shows at the Portsmouth Pyramids Centre can be bought either at the venue itself, or at the Wedgewood Rooms Box Office located on Albert Road, Southsea.
and South Parade Pier
, the Pyramids Centre is situated just 25m from the sea.
Planning permission was granted in July 1986 for the development of a water-leisure & conference centre on the site of the old Rock Gardens Pavilion site. The Pavilion was single storey in height and had provided an entertainment facility on the seafront for a number of years, but was rundown and needed replacing. There was also a bandstand in the middle of the rock garden area as well. This offered an ideal site for a modern tourism orientated facility with its location adjoining the Rock Gardens and Castle Fields. The scheme was, therefore, set for a leisure and entertainment facility.
The Pyramids was opened to the public in July 1988. It was developed by Clifford Barnett Developments Ltd in partnership with the City Council at a cost of £8.5m. The Developer's architects were Charles Smith Architects from Boston Spa
, West Yorkshire. The centre was managed initially by a partnership between J. Lyons Catering Ltd and Clifford Barnett. An agreement was entered into by the City Council whereby profits and losses were shared during the first ten years. However due to a number of factors the City Council took over the management of the centre. It was from the start controlled by Portsmouth Operating Company Limited whose Directors included the Chair of the Leisure Committee.
Unfortunately, the Pyramids Centre has proven to be expensive to maintain and has become dilapidated over recent years. Part of the roof is under scaffolding after screws rusted through and high winds threatened to carry it off. It is estimated that repairs to the roof would cost £140,000. Each pane of double-glazed glass that is vandalised costs £2,000 to fix, resulting in an annual bill of £30,000 a year. Whole walls would need to be removed to install new boiler systems. Corrosive chlorine has eaten away at the air-handling plant, filtration tanks and stainless steel turnstile. Consequently, usage of the swimming pool has dropped from over 300,000 in 1996 to under 200,000 in 2005. There is currently no roof under scaffolding.
The Pyramids will be taken over by Southsea Community Lesiure Ltd on 30th April 2010. It will be shut for several months due to refurbishments, however will open for the summer on Monday 2nd August.
Southsea
Southsea is a seaside resort located in Portsmouth at the southern end of Portsea Island in the county of Hampshire in England. Southsea is within a mile of Portsmouth's city centre....
, near Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
It has a swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
/water park
Water park
A waterpark is an amusement park that features waterplay areas, such as water slides, splash pads, spraygrounds , lazy rivers, or other recreational bathing, swimming, and barefooting environments...
, a live arena, and function rooms. The function room, located next door to the indoor leisure complex, is, along with the Portsmouth Guildhall
Portsmouth Guildhall
Portsmouth Guildhall is the biggest events venue in the Hampshire city of Portsmouth in England. The building, completed in 1890, was designed in the neo-classical style by architect William Hill, who had earlier been responsible for the design of the town hall in Bolton...
and The Wedgewood Rooms
The Wedgewood Rooms
The Wedgewood Rooms is a venue, in Southsea , Hampshire, UK, that hosts music and comedy events.It has a capacity of 450-500 people, and is located on Albert Road in Southsea. Recently it has hosted events from up-and-coming British pop and rock artists, such as You Me At Six, Kasabian, Mercury...
, a popular venue for live music.
Artists that have performed at Pyramids Centre include Roger Taylor
Roger Meddows-Taylor
Roger Meddows Taylor , known as Roger Taylor, is a British musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the drummer, backing vocalist and occasional lead vocalist of British rock band Queen. As a drummer he is known for his "big" unique sound and is considered one of...
, Feeder
Feeder
-Technology:* Feeder , any of several devices used in apiculture to supplement or replace natural food sources* Feeder , another name for a riser, a reservoir built into a metal casting mold to prevent cavities due to shrinkage...
, lostprophets
Lostprophets
Lostprophets is a Welsh rock band from Pontypridd, formed in 1997. Founded by vocalist Ian Watkins, bassist Mike Lewis, drummer Mike Chiplin and guitarist Lee Gaze, they were originally a side-project to hardcore punk band Public Disturbance. To date, Lostprophets have released four studio...
, You Me At Six
You Me At Six
You Me at Six is a British rock band from Weybridge, Surrey. Formed in 2004, the group rose to fame in 2008 with the success of their debut album, Take Off Your Colours, which included the singles "Save It for the Bedroom", "Finders Keepers" and "Kiss and Tell", with the latter two peaking at #33...
, Bring Me The Horizon
Bring Me the Horizon
Bring Me the Horizon are a British metalcore band from Sheffield, Yorkshire, who formed in 2004. Bring Me the Horizon constits of Oliver Sykes as the lead vocalist, lead guitarist Lee Malia, rhythm guitarist Jona Weinhofen, bassist Matt Kean and drummer Matt Nicholls...
, Example
Example
An example is a demonstration with the aim of informing others of how a task should be performed. It is often abbreviated to e.g.Example may also refer to:* Example , a British musician...
, The Darkness, Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English indie rock band. Formed in 2002 in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield, the band currently consists of Alex Turner , Jamie Cook , Nick O'Malley and Matt Helders...
& Gallows
Gallows (band)
Gallows are a hardcore punk band from Watford, England. The band was formed in 2005 after the disbandment of founding member Laurent Barnard's previous band, My Dad Joe. Gallows' debut album, Orchestra of Wolves, was distributed in the United States by Epitaph Records, and they were subsequently...
.
Tickets for shows at the Portsmouth Pyramids Centre can be bought either at the venue itself, or at the Wedgewood Rooms Box Office located on Albert Road, Southsea.
Location
Located on Southsea Seafront between Clarence PierClarence Pier
Clarence Pier is an amusement pier in Portsmouth, Hampshire. It is located by the Portsmouth Hovercraft terminal. Unlike most seaside piers in the UK, the pier does not extend very far out to sea, instead goes along the coast....
and South Parade Pier
South Parade Pier
The South Parade Pier is a pier in Portsmouth, England. It is one of two piers in the city, the other being Clarence Pier. The pier has a long hall down its centre which houses a seating area and a small restaurant...
, the Pyramids Centre is situated just 25m from the sea.
History
In 1982, Portsmouth City Council outlined its plan to update the image of promoting the City as a tourist resort in the document "Tourism and Portsmouth". This signalled the move away from "Come to Sunny Southsea" to "Portsmouth : Flagship of Maritime England", with the aim of emphasising the City's Naval Heritage to encourage people to have a holiday in the area. This approach was based on the establishment of the Maritime Heritage Area. There was a need however, to still provide for the traditional holiday maker and so other tourist facilities were required to supplement those existing and this resulted in the development of the Sea Life Centre. Given the great British weather, there was also a need for a wet weather facility, which was the starting point for the Pyramid Centre.Planning permission was granted in July 1986 for the development of a water-leisure & conference centre on the site of the old Rock Gardens Pavilion site. The Pavilion was single storey in height and had provided an entertainment facility on the seafront for a number of years, but was rundown and needed replacing. There was also a bandstand in the middle of the rock garden area as well. This offered an ideal site for a modern tourism orientated facility with its location adjoining the Rock Gardens and Castle Fields. The scheme was, therefore, set for a leisure and entertainment facility.
The Pyramids was opened to the public in July 1988. It was developed by Clifford Barnett Developments Ltd in partnership with the City Council at a cost of £8.5m. The Developer's architects were Charles Smith Architects from Boston Spa
Boston Spa
Boston Spa is a village and civil parish in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England, south of Wetherby, on the banks of the River Wharfe...
, West Yorkshire. The centre was managed initially by a partnership between J. Lyons Catering Ltd and Clifford Barnett. An agreement was entered into by the City Council whereby profits and losses were shared during the first ten years. However due to a number of factors the City Council took over the management of the centre. It was from the start controlled by Portsmouth Operating Company Limited whose Directors included the Chair of the Leisure Committee.
Further Development
There have been a number of changes to the use of the building since it was built including allowing auction/sales to take place 24 days a year; and adding in December 1993 a wine bar, known as the "Frog On The Front" on the front elevation where there used to be a Tourist Information Centre and a retail shop at the lower ground floor level. The venue has been quite successfully used as a night-club at the weekends. In August 1995 planning permission was granted for a single storey extension to the southern terrace, and in July 1996 permission was granted for the construction of a canopy over the north entrance.Today
The centre is now run by Parkwood Leisure Centres, on behalf of Portsmouth City Council. The centre contained four activities areas - Oasis, Pharaohs, Plaza and Orangery; and there are 4 pools including 3 flumes; with bar, entertainment, conference/exhibition facilities.Unfortunately, the Pyramids Centre has proven to be expensive to maintain and has become dilapidated over recent years. Part of the roof is under scaffolding after screws rusted through and high winds threatened to carry it off. It is estimated that repairs to the roof would cost £140,000. Each pane of double-glazed glass that is vandalised costs £2,000 to fix, resulting in an annual bill of £30,000 a year. Whole walls would need to be removed to install new boiler systems. Corrosive chlorine has eaten away at the air-handling plant, filtration tanks and stainless steel turnstile. Consequently, usage of the swimming pool has dropped from over 300,000 in 1996 to under 200,000 in 2005. There is currently no roof under scaffolding.
The Pyramids will be taken over by Southsea Community Lesiure Ltd on 30th April 2010. It will be shut for several months due to refurbishments, however will open for the summer on Monday 2nd August.