A new flagship indoor adventure centre – Project Canyon – offering a range of activities, is to be created at Manchester’s Trafford Centre by Urban Legacies.
The aim of the new centre is to bring outdoor sports – such as caving, canyoning, canoeing, deep-water surfing, ice and rock climbing, and zip wiring – to one indoor space.
International leisure and entertainment specialists Urban Legacies have submitted a full planning application to Trafford Council. The application seeks to convert part of the DW Sports & Fitness Centre building next to the Chill Factore indoor ski slope.
At present, the building houses a range of users. These include the DW Fitness Trafford gym, the Oxygen Freejumping trampoline park, and the Powerleague Trafford Sportsdome, a football facility with five- or seven-a-side pitches.
Urban Legacies is negotiating with the landlord at present. The company hopes to lease the northern part of the building, at present comprising a series of Powerleague pitches and supporting facilities.
The scheme would involve adding a 17.5-metre-high extension to the existing nine metre rear wall. This would allow the space to house much larger internal attractions. The gross internal floor space would reach 124,377 sq. ft., according to a supporting planning statement.
The Trafford Centre attraction would be the flagship centre in the UK. The concept looks to provide a variety of active lifestyle experiences. It’s aimed at people of all ages and abilities. Ancillary food, drink and merchandising opportunities are also part of the offering. The proposed facility in Manchester is expected to create up to 325 new full-time and part-time jobs.
“Project Canyon is an exciting new destination sports, entertainment and lifestyle experience that is being developed in a number of key international markets across the UK, Europe, South-East Asia and North America,” says project architects Benoy in a statement. “The design approach for Project Canyon, Manchester focuses on embracing its core mission: to bring a wide variety of outdoor sports to one indoor space.
“Encompassing a variety of adventure and lifestyle-oriented activities, aimed at people of all ages, abilities and leisure preferences, Project Canyon is centred around encouraging people to be active in a fun and inspiring way,” the statement continues. “With a weatherproof, flexible and non-seasonal offer, Project Canyon is designed to become one of the most exciting all-year-round leisure and activity destinations.”
Two other major adventure centre developments have been announced recently for the UK. Merlin Entertainments’ £20 million Bear Grylls Adventure at the NEC Birmingham will be home to the tallest high ropes challenge in Europe. A consortium led by EXTREME and Continuum Attractions are to develop a $30.5 million EXTREME branded world class sports, leisure and accommodation development in Sheffield.
https://www.insidermedia.com/insider/northwest/plans-in-for-new-flagship-indoor-adventure-centre
