YORK University's new state-of-the art sports centre extension will be open to the public in the New Year.

The £800,000 high-tech tent-like structure has been built on to the side of the existing sports centre at the Heslington Lane campus.

Measuring 55 metres by 40 metres, the multi-purpose building will throw its doors open to the people of York as well as the university's students.

It is phase one of a massive sports expansion programme at the university.

Colin Smith, the university's director of physical recreation said: "To date the university has an excellent record in allowing community access to its sports facilities.

"For example, Heslington Squash Club has been based here for 30 years, Heslington Trampoline Club, the Yorkshire disabled cricket team, Norwich Union teams, Knavesmire Harriers and York City Football Academy are a few of the groups using facilities on a regular basis.

"The limiting factor has been the lack of sufficient facilities to enable this policy to be extended and regrettably, some requests to book have to be refused."

The new indoor multi-sports area is equivalent to three sports halls and also houses a dance studio and a 47-station fitness suite. The steel-framed hall, which has a vinyl skin, can be divided into thirds by demountable rebound boards.

Each third can accommodate indoor football, futsal, indoor hockey, netball, basketball, tennis, volleyball and badminton. The Taraflex floor has been the choice for the stadia at recent Olympic Games.

The second phase of the project will see a 3G artificial football pitch opened by 2007.

Membership of the fitness suite is open to the community and most of the equipment and changing rooms have been modified to allow people with disabilities to have access to the facilities.

A corporate indoor five-a-side football league will kick-start the hall into community action in January.

Three leagues of eight teams will compete on Sunday nights, starting on January 15. Apart from the rebound boards, all goals are recessed and a high-spec dehumidification system cuts down condensation in cold weather.

Games will be 15 minutes each half and there is a £20 registration fee, plus £22 per match per team.

The university will organise the fixtures and provide FA qualified referees.

Smith said: "This will be a first for York because suitable indoor facilities have not been available before and it opens up new opportunities for other indoor leagues such as hockey, netball and futsal."

Teams who are interested in joining should e-mail sportscentre@york.ac.uk or ring 01904 433856 for further details.

Updated: 10:11 Wednesday, December 21, 2005