The Link Centre is a

leisure centre A leisure centre, sports centre, or recreation centre is a purpose-built building or site, usually owned and provided by the local government authority, where people can engage in a variety of sports and exercise, and keep fit. Typical facilit ...

Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...

, England. The building, owned by

Swindon Borough Council Swindon Borough Council is the local authority of the Borough of Swindon in the ceremonial county of Wiltshire, England. It was founded in 1974 as Thamesdown Borough Council, and was a lower-tier district council until 1997. In 1997 it was re ...

and operated by Greenwich Leisure under the brand "Better", is best known for its national-sized ice rink which houses a

National Ice Hockey League The National Ice Hockey League (NIHL) is a set of semi-professional ice hockey leagues administered by the English Ice Hockey Association. It is currently the second tier of British ice hockey, below the Elite Ice Hockey League. Formerly calle ...

team, the

Swindon Wildcats The Swindon Wildcats are a professional ice hockey team based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. They play in the National Ice Hockey League (NIHL). Since their inception, the Wildcats have played their home games at the 1600-capacity Link Centre i ...

Location

The building is part of the West Swindon district centre, in Westlea, about west of Swindon town centre. The complex includes a large

Asda Asda Stores Limited (), trading as Asda and often styled as ASDA, is a British supermarket and petrol station chain. Its headquarters is in Leeds, England. The company was incorporated as Associated Dairies and Farm Stores in 1949. It expanded ...

supermarket as well as many smaller shops

History

The centre was commissioned by Thamesdown Borough Council (later renamed

) in 1970 to provide leisure and social facilities for an estimated West Swindon population of 50,000. Design was undertaken in-house under chief architect K P Sherry, and work began on the site in 1983. The modern, multi-axial design incorporating an ice rink, swimming pool and other facilities opened in April 1985, received an estimated 1 million visitors in its first year of operation and "won awards and favourable mentions in architectural circles". The complex, designed to provide facilities for more than 20 sports and leisure activities, was described in architectural and sports journals as the most comprehensive development of its kind in Britain. The £2million ice rink was praised on completion but local residents were unhappy that the swimming pool, at only 25 metres long, was not of competition standard. In 2003, the centre was closed temporarily following the finding of the

legionella ''Legionella'' is a genus of gram-negative bacteria, gram-negative bacteria that can be seen using a silver stain or grown in a special media that contains cysteine, an amino acid. It is known to cause legionellosis (all illnesses caused by ''Legi ...

bacteria in the water cooling system. This bacteria, found during a routine test, is the cause of

Legionnaires' disease Legionnaires' disease is a form of atypical pneumonia caused by any species of ''Legionella'' bacteria, quite often ''Legionella pneumophila''. Signs and symptoms include cough, shortness of breath, high fever, myalgia, muscle pains, and headach ...

. The centre re-opened following a full sterilisation of the water supply. In 2006 the metal-exterior centre was closed for a short time after a major electrical fault was caused by an internal flood. The Same story happened in 2023 for the same reason.

Facilities

* Ice rink :The international-sized (56mx26m) ice pad is recognised as a "centre of excellence" for both figure skating and ice hockey. It is an approved national centre for squad training for British Ice Skating and Ice Hockey UK, and a NISA approved regional test centre. * 25m deck-level heated swimming pool * Gym with over 100 stations and Astroturf area * Dedicated spin studio * Two fitness class studios * 1,100 square metre trampoline park (Better Extreme) * Squash courts * Library

Ice hockey teams

A number of ice hockey teams play at the Link Centre, including: *

* Swindon Wildcats 2 * Swindon Wildcats Rec * Swindon Top Cats * Swindon Avalanche

References

External links

*
The Link Centre
at SwindonWeb.com {{UK Ice Rinks Buildings and structures in Swindon Sports venues in Swindon Ice hockey venues in England Ice rinks in the United Kingdom