Solent University has officially opened its new £28m sports and fitness centre.

The centre houses two sports halls, three gyms, an indoor cycling studio, two exercise studios, a physiotherapy treatment room and a dedicated basketball centre – one of only two of its kind in the country.

The university worked with Pulse Fitness on the new facility, which is part of the ongoing £100m estate development plan, designed to upgrade Solent’s East Park Terrace (EPT) campus.

The gyms include a high-performance facility for the university’s elite athletes, a dedicated teaching facility to be used by the university’s sports degree students and a 90-station gym for community use.

The community-use gym is home to an innovation area, which includes Pulse's CrossClimb and the VR Treadmill kit.

To encourage collaboration and innovation, Sports Science students at the university will be invited to contribute ideas for future Pulse Fitness equipment and technology design and development.

“The new sports facility marks a new era for our university,” said Martin Nailor, head of sport for Solent University.

“For us, this is about providing a fantastic experience for all our students, particularly those on our sports science programmes, and we wanted to ensure everyone feels involved.

"The Pulse equipment is some of the most advanced and reliable in the market and we are particularly excited about the innovation area within the gym.

"This new addition gives our students the chance to have their say and help shape the future of fitness equipment."

Other suppliers to have worked on the project include EXF Fitness, which supplied the looring throughout and three bespoke functional training rigs.