Lightfoot Sports Stadium, Wharrier Street

Lightfoot Sports Stadium, Wharrier Street

HER Number
9793
District
Newcastle
Site Name
Lightfoot Sports Stadium, Wharrier Street
Place
Walker
Map Sheet
NZ26SE
Class
Recreational
Site Type: Broad
Sports Building
Site Type: Specific
Sports Centre
General Period
20TH CENTURY
Specific Period
Mid 20th Century 1933 to 1966
Form of Evidence
Extant Building
Description
1963-5 by Williamson, Faulkner Brown & Partners for Newcastle City Council. The Lightfoot Centre was conceived in the wake of the Wolfenden Report of 1960, which promoted the construction of multi purpose sports centres. When it opened in 1965 its 61m diameter 'flying saucer' dome was the largest in Europe. Its laminated timber ribs were covered in prefabricated reinforced fibreglass panels, cladding that had never been used before on this scale. Beneath the 14m high dome is an expanse of 2,300 square metres. There are two tennis courts and eight badminton courts. Refurbished 1990.
Easting
428520
Northing
563870
Grid Reference
NZ428520563870
Sources
N. Pevsner and I. Richmond (second edition revised by J. Grundy, G. McCombie, P. Ryder, H. Welfare), 1992, The Buildings of England - Northumberland, page 498; Lynn Pearson, 2010, Played in Tyne and Wear, charting the heritage of people at play, p 24; Tyne and Wear Museums, 2008, Heart of Walker Regeneration Area, Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne - Archaeological Assessment