SWANSEA: Leisure centre visits top two million — but the figures show what it costs to keep them open

Swansea‘s leisure centres are busier than they have been in years — but a council report has laid bare how much it costs to keep them running.

More than two million visits were made to leisure facilities across the city in 2024/25, according to the latest Leisure Partnerships Annual Report.

Usage at the centres run by Freedom Leisure alone reached 2,098,565 — up from 1,878,928 the year before — with gym memberships climbing to 13,274.

But the same report shows those centres cost more to run than they brought in, with the council topping up the gap.

Across the Freedom Leisure contract, the centres earned £8.5m in 2024/25 but cost £9.9m to operate.

On top of that, the council paid Freedom Leisure a management fee of £1.17m — up from £987,000 the previous year — plus a further £182,000 in contract support.

The cost of the National Pool

The picture is starker at Wales National Pool Swansea, which ran a net cost of more than £1.6m.

The council’s funding for the pool reached £680,800 for the year, after an extra £200,000 was agreed at Cabinet specifically to cover a deficit pushed up by rising energy costs.

The pool’s set-up is about to change. From August, the Wales National Pool — along with the rest of Swansea Bay Sports Park — will be run by Freedom Leisure, named as the site’s new operator in April.

It means the not-for-profit trust that already runs the council’s leisure centres will, from 1 August, also take on the pool, under a separate contract overseen by a council and university joint venture.

The change is tied to a wider £150m vision for a sport and health “superhub” at the Sketty Lane site.

Energy bills the recurring pressure

Energy has been the recurring pressure across the venues in the report, echoing the extra costs support the council stepped in with back in 2023.

The report notes that operators running large facilities with swimming pools have been hit hardest, given how much energy they consume.

There were brighter notes. The redeveloped Cefn Hengoed Leisure Centre and its new sports barn saw gym membership jump 32% and bookings reach 90% capacity within weeks of opening.

Freedom Leisure also won learn-to-swim provider of the year and a sustainability award at the 2025 Swim Wales Awards.

Plantasia bucks the trend

Plantasia, the tropical zoo run by Parkwood Leisure, told a different story — visitor numbers fell 4.8% to 111,697.

The report links that drop to a wider slump across Welsh attractions, with cost-of-living pressures blamed for visitor falls of between 15% and 25% in 2024.

Despite that, Plantasia still turned an operating surplus, and recently earned major industry accreditation from BIAZA, placing it among a select group of UK and Ireland zoos recognised for animal welfare and conservation standards.

Part of its surplus was reinvested in a £90,000 “Giants of the Past” dinosaur installation, with the council contributing £40,000 of its share towards the project.

The Wales National Pool, meanwhile, hosted 36 event days over the year, including international competitions, and saw its coaches and swimmers represent Team GB at the Paris Olympics.

Tracey McNulty, the council’s head of cultural services, parks and cleansing, said affordable leisure played an important role in supporting residents’ health and wellbeing.

She said that while rising energy costs continued to present challenges, the council’s partnerships were keeping services running and investing in facilities.

The report was presented to the council’s Cabinet for noting, rather than for a decision.

It follows a similar review a year earlier which charted the post-pandemic recovery in visits to the city’s leisure venues.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Freedom Leisure announced as new operator for Swansea Bay Sports Park
The company running the council’s leisure centres takes on the National Pool from August.

SPORTS HUB SHAKE-UP: Major changes approved at Sketty Lane
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More than 5,000 use sports barn in first month
The redeveloped Cefn Hengoed centre proved an instant hit.

SWANSEA: Plantasia awarded major industry accreditation
The tropical zoo earns full BIAZA recognition for its standards.

SPORTS HUB SHAKE-UP! Major changes approved at Swansea’s Sketty Lane site as £150m superhub vision gathers pace

The move will see facilities across Swansea Bay Sports Park — including council-run playing fields, university-operated pitches and athletics facilities, and the partnership-run Wales National Pool — brought together under a single operator for the first time.

It’s a significant shift for a site that’s currently managed by a mix of organisations, and comes as plans gather pace for a £150m sports and health “superhub” in the area.

Council leader Rob Stewart said the aim is to secure the long-term future of the facilities while improving standards for everyone who uses them.

“Swansea is a sporting city and we want to ensure that community facilities continue to be available to all — and to be run to the highest possible standards.”

Under the plans, a new not-for-profit company — led by senior figures from the council and Swansea University — will oversee the site, with a professional operator appointed to run day-to-day services.

Cabinet member Andrew Stevens said the current set-up simply isn’t working as well as it could.

“Having different management obligations and teams across a single site isn’t 100% efficient and now resources will be better directed to improving the facilities.

“A new single operating model for the facilities that comprise much of the Swansea Bay Sports Park next to our fantastic coastline will help us achieve that.”

The shake-up is closely linked to wider ambitions for the Sketty Lane site, where plans have already been unveiled for a major new National Institute for Sport and Health — part of a long-term vision to create a regional hub for sport, wellbeing and research.

Despite the changes, the council says no jobs will be lost, with a new operator expected to be in place later this year following a competitive tender process.

The decision does not affect Swansea Tennis Club, which will continue to operate independently.

The decision also comes at a time of growing uncertainty for sport in the surrounding area — particularly at nearby St Helen’s, where long-term plans for the Ospreys’ return have been overshadowed by ongoing upheaval in Welsh rugby.

Proposals being explored by the Welsh Rugby Union have raised fears the region could even disappear from the professional game — prompting political pressure, fan backlash and calls for urgent clarity.

With major investment plans already approved for the historic ground, the lack of certainty has left questions hanging over how the wider sporting picture in Swansea will evolve.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

£150m sports and health superhub planned for Sketty Lane
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Council leader welcomes St Helen’s redevelopment approval
A major step forward for the Ospreys’ historic home.

Planning approved for Ospreys’ St Helen’s revamp
The green light paves the way for a modernised rugby venue.

Ospreys to run Swansea University men’s rugby programme
A new partnership aims to strengthen the region’s talent pathway.

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£150m sport and health superhub breaks ground at Sketty Lane

Diggers rolled onto the site this week as construction started on the National Institute for Sport and Health (NISH), a four‑storey landmark rising beside the Wales National Pool and directly opposite Singleton Hospital. The university says the location is no accident — the aim is to bring researchers, clinicians, athletes and industry specialists together in one place, with the hospital and sports facilities just steps away.

The project is being delivered for Swansea University and funded through the Swansea Bay City Deal, with support from Swansea Council and local health boards. Pick Everard is managing the scheme, working with architects Powell Dobson and main contractor Willmott Dixon.

Gareth Taylor, Principal Project Manager at Pick Everard, said the team has been shaping the project from the earliest stages. “Being involved from the early stages has given us a real understanding of how the building needs to operate, both now and in the future,” he said. “With the potential to make a genuine impact on health, sport and technology, delivering a project of this scale requires close collaboration across the full project team.”

Swansea University describes the institute as the first facility of its kind in the UK — a place where new sports technology, medical devices and health innovations can be developed, tested and scaled without leaving the region.

Professor Keith Lloyd, NISH Director, said the development will help put Swansea “on the global map” for research and innovation. “It will serve as a catalyst for discovery, investment, and improved wellbeing,” he said.

Inside, the building will house teaching rooms, media studios, sports technology labs, collaborative workspaces and demonstration areas. The university says it will act as the anchor for a wider Science and Innovation Park planned for the Sketty Lane site, creating a real‑world environment where ideas can move quickly from concept to testing.

Project leaders say the development will create more than 1,000 jobs in the Swansea area and contribute over £150 million to the regional economy by 2033.

Swansea National Pool offering Christmas swimming trial reductions

The city pool is home to elite athletes like Dan Jervis who competed in the Paris Olympics in the summer. But it’s also a place for people who want to set out on their own ambitions to boost their fitness or enjoy time out with friends.

Now the pool is offering a low-cost two weeks’ swimming for £12 to anyone who wants to try it out for the first time.

Jeremy Cole, general manager at the pool, said that the offer aims to encourage people to give the pool a go, boosting fitness in a low-impact way after Christmas. He said:

“Swimming is a great all-round opportunity for an overall body workout, burning up calories without putting pressure on your joints like pounding the pavements sometimes can.

“It’s a great way to reduce stress and increase energy levels as well.”

The £12 for two weeks offer can be purchased throughout December and the 14 days start on the first day it’s activated. This means that it can make a Christmas stocking-filler for a friend or a great self-gift for the earlier new year.

The offer gifts swimmers the opportunity to join in lane swimming, recreational or family swims for a 14-day period.

Mr Cole said: “At a time when we all have to watch what we’re spending, the offer makes a lot of sense without any further commitment.

“But we find many people who take up the £12 for 14 days offer go on to join us as a full member which entitles them to extra savings in the long run, including more lane swimming opportunities as well as free Aquacise fitness sessions and discounts in our swim shop.”

To find out more about the two weeks’ swimming for £12 offer and to get more information about memberships please contact [email protected]

[Lead image: Swansea Council]

#swimming #WalesNationalPool

Exciting sports projects across Swansea and beyond backed with £3.5m funding

Allocated by Sport Wales, the funding will widen access to sports and physical activity among communities, create more artificial pitches in places that need them most, and also support our most talented athletes to achieve their dreams.

Several local authorities successfully applied for funding to help make leisure centres more energy efficient so that activities can remain affordable for communities to enjoy.

For example, running costs will be slashed at the LC in Swansea thanks to the installation of solar panels and LED lighting, while £175,226 worth of improvements will help conserve energy at many sites across Pembrokeshire.

Other popular facilities will benefit from reduced utility bills too. The Urdd will use £25,860 towards the installation of solar panels at the Llangrannog Residential Centre, while Queensway Stadium in Wrexham will install LED lighting which will improve the stadium’s energy efficiency and sustainability.

Innovative ideas to help more people become active have received significant funding. Pembrokeshire County Council’s plans for using Artificial Intelligence technology to create personalised workouts for all abilities will receive £99,630, while Welsh Boxing has received funding to introduce opportunities for Virtual Reality Boxing – ideal for giving people who have impairments a chance to enjoy the sport safely.

A proposal to resurface the athletics track at the Pembrokeshire Sports Village has been awarded £191,253, while Sport Wales has worked together with the Football Association of Wales, Welsh Rugby Union and Hoci Cymru to allocate funding towards a number of new artificial pitches in Port Talbot, Wrexham, Cwmbran, Colwyn Bay and Haverfordwest.

Hot on the heels of a successful Paris 2024 Games for Welsh athletes, more than half a million pounds is being invested into improving facilities and creating better sporting environments so that the country’s most talented sportsmen and women can fulfil their potential.

Projects awarded funding include the creation of a first-ever Centre of Excellence for Welsh Boxing, a series of upgrades at The Wales National Pool and the National Hockey Centre, improvements to the performance gym at the National Indoor Athletics Centre, and the installation of 2,000 more seats at the House of Sport venue in Cardiff – the home of performance netball in Wales.

The national pool in Swansea is set for upgrades (Credit: Sport Wales)

Sport Wales CEO Brian Davies speaking about the plans said:

“We received a high level of applications from local authorities, sport governing bodies and national partners for a share of this funding and prioritised projects that would make the biggest impact on making sport more inclusive for all as well as supporting our ambitions for nurturing talented athletes.

“Just as we did last year, we’re pleased to have been able to award a large amount of funding to help safeguard the long-term future of leisure facilities by making them more energy efficient and sustainable. These projects will also generate sizeable carbon savings, helping to support Wales’ climate change targets.”

Welsh Government Minister for Sport, Jack Sargeant, said:

“Through this funding – which marks a significant part of our £8m investment in Sport Wales this year – we are delivering on our commitments to promote equal access to sport, support our grassroot clubs and invest in new and world-class sporting facilities for our nation’s talented athletes.  

“From innovative tech-driven facilities to energy-efficient places, these projects will provide inclusive, accessible and sustainable opportunities for people across Wales to enjoy both the physical and mental health benefits of sport, and to hone their skills and talent to achieve their potential and emulate their sporting heroes.”

All of the grants have been made possible thanks to a total £8m worth of capital funding for 2024-25 which has been allocated to Sport Wales by the Welsh Government.

All grants are subject to certain terms and conditions being met. Some of the projects are already underway, while others are planned for the coming months.

A full list of the 37 projects to receive capital funding can be found at the Sport Wales website.

[Lead image: Sports Wales]

#LCSwansea #SportWales #VirtualReality #WalesNationalPool