A £36m sports centre is to open at the University of Surrey in Guildford in January.

A £36m sports centre is to open at the University of Surrey in Guildford in January. The Surrey Sports Park is to boast an eight-lane Olympic-sized swimming pool with spectator seating and a 120-station fitness suite supplied by Life Fitness.

Life Fitness used its Journey system in the design of the fitness suite, which intends to stop students “getting bored and increase the longevity of their exercise sessions”.

Rob Jones, development manager of Life Fitness, said: “The correct product mix and layout is very important as students often want to pop in for quick gym sessions in between lectures and get bored quickly. At the University of Surrey site, we have included a low level circuit area where a 30-minute workout can be carried out.”

Other facilities will include a 12m climbing wall, three multi-purpose sports halls, squash courts, eight outdoor tennis courts, three artificial turf pitches, 10 football/rugby pitches, two multi-purpose exercise studios, two cricket squares, a 60m sprint and warm-up track, a sauna and steamroom and a 350-seat café.

The centre will be open to students, staff and members of the community.

Jason Harborow, who was the CEO of the Liverpool Culture Company – which developed and delivered Liverpool’s European Capital of Culture year of 2008 – will be running the new facility.