Everyone Active has been rappointed as the new operator of Sheffield’s sport and leisure venues, as of January 2025.
Last year, Sheffield City Council confirmed the city’s leisure and entertainment venues were set to receive £117m worth of investment, including rebuilds of some of the city’s most popular leisure centres and improvements to Sheffield’s Utilita Arena and City Hall.
As part of these plans a competitive procurement process was launched in a bid to attract the best in leisure and entertainment provision to run these venues. The process has already seen Manchester AO and Leeds First Direct operator ASM Global appointed as operator for Utilita Arena Sheffield and Sheffield City Hall.
Following the final stage of the tender process, Everyone Active, part of Sports and Leisure Management (SLM), has been confirmed as the new operator of Sheffield’s city-wide sport and leisure centres, and golf courses.
Everyone Active is a long established and experienced UK leisure operator, having been founded in 1987.
It manages over 220 leisure and cultural centres across Britain in partnership with more than 60 different local authorities.
Councillor Tom Hunt, leader of Sheffield City Council, said: “Sheffield is a city of sport, and we are incredibly proud of our sporting heritage and facilities.
“Our facilities have cultivated talented athletes that have gone on to compete in the Olympics, world championships and who have reached the highest level in their sport.
“Everyone Active will bring a wealth of experience and expertise to help elevate our sport and leisure offer across the city even further.”
From January 2025, Everyone Active will take over management of three golf courses and seven leisure facilities, including the English Institute of Sport (EISS), one of seven high performance centres across England providing access to high quality facilities that are specifically designed for elite athletes.
Everyone Active will also operate Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, which is home to City of Sheffield Swim School and City of Sheffield Diving. It is one of only a dozen Olympic sized swimming pools in the UK and home to Europe’s deepest diving pool.
Alongside Ponds Forge, Everyone Active will operate IceSheffield, the home of British Ice Skating and the Sheffield Steeldogs. It is a centre of excellence for figure skating, ice dance and hockey and one of the only two facilities in the UK that has two Olympic sized ice pads.
Hillsborough, Concord and Springs Leisure centres and Heeley Pool, will also come under Everyone Active control next year, followed by Graves, Thorncliffe and Wisewood Leisure Centres in 2026.
David Bibby, managing director at Everyone Active, said: “There is an incredible array of facilities within the city, renowned for hosting major sporting events and cultivating world-class athletes.
“As a company that started out 37 years ago running a single site, it is fantastic to continue our growth in new areas of the UK, now reaching more than 240 leisure and cultural facilities.”
