St Albans leisure centres and theatres rated ‘excellent’ as £1.5m investment continues
Four major leisure centres and two entertainment venues in St Albans District have been rated ‘excellent’ by independent assessors.
This follows a £1.5 million investment programme that is delivering significant upgrades to the facilities as well as record attendances.
St Albans City and District Council own Harpenden, Cotlandswick, Batchwood and Westminster Lodge leisure centres as well as the Alban Arena and the Eric Morecambe Centre.
All six facilities are managed by leisure operator Everyone Active on the Council’s behalf.
A performance report was given to a meeting of the Council’s Public Realm Committee by Everyone Active executives on Wednesday 21 January.
Among the highlights were:
- All the locations were rated ‘excellent’ by Quest, the sport and leisure industry’s respected quality scheme. The rigorous assessments evaluated everything from customer experience and operational performance to inclusivity and community impact.
- Membership of the leisure centres increased by 12% in 2025 and now totals more than 15,000.
- Visits to all six facilities have increased by more than 290,000 year-on-year, with an average of 234,000 visits each month.
- Over the past two years, £1.5 million has been invested in leisure centre improvements including refurbished changing rooms and shower facilities. Enhancements at Batchwood have included upgrades to the golf course and new padel tennis courts.
- A further £400,000 refurbishment of Verulamium Spa at Westminster Lodge has started and will include introducing new ice and plunge therapy, infrared bench seating, heated relaxation beds, monsoon showers, a salt inhalation room and refurbished changing areas.
- The 2025 pantomime at the Arena was the most successful in its history in terms of both ticket sales and revenue with 96% of seats sold. It was a similar story at the EMC with 600 more seats sold than last year.
Everyone Active’s presentation to the Committee also revealed the two theatres had benefited from recent investment in front-of-house and backstage, alongside improvements to programming and customer experience.
During the last financial year, the Alban Arena hosted 143 events, welcoming around 110,000 visitors, while the Eric Morecambe Centre staged 102 events with attendances of approximately 50,000. Both venues recorded strong growth in ticket sales during 2025.
The Council’s partnership with Everyone Active has supported a wide range of wellbeing and inclusion initiatives, including gifted memberships for care-experienced young people, people living with Parkinson’s, and aspiring athletes, alongside expanded outreach and community activity programmes.
Steve Cox, Area Contract Manager at Everyone Active, said:
Achieving ‘excellent’ ratings across all our leisure centres and theatres is a fantastic endorsement of the hard work put in by our teams and the strength of our partnership with St Albans City and District Council.
This investment is about more than buildings, it’s about creating welcoming, high-quality spaces where residents can be active, relax, enjoy culture and feel part of their community. We’re proud of what’s been delivered so far and excited about what’s still to come.
Councillor Helen Campbell, the Committee’s Chair, said:
It is clear our residents are benefitting in many ways from our outstanding partnership with Everyone Active.
There has been considerable investment over the past two years to further improve our first-class leisure and entertainment venues and more exciting developments are underway.
Everyone Active has ensured that we are reaching out to all our diverse communities with initiatives such as special exercise classes for people living with Parkinson’s.
The Committee was particularly impressed with the soaring membership figures for the leisure centres and the historically high ticket sales for last year’s pantomimes.
This shows all our sport and leisure venues are growing in popularity by responding to the needs and interests of our residents. My thanks go to all Everyone Active’s staff and management for the hard work that has achieved this.
ENDS
Photo: Staff at the Cotlandswick Leisure Centre
For press information, please contact:
Victoria Watkins | Regional PR & Communications Manager
victoriawatkins@everyoneactive.com
07739 985325
Everyone Active
Everyone Active is the trading name for Sports Leisure Management (SLM), which operates leisure facilities and cultural services across England. SLM Ltd was formed in 1987, managing just one leisure centre in the Midlands. Today, Everyone Active manages in excess of 230 sites in partnership with, or as agent of, more than 65 local authorities. These stretch from Sunderland in the north to Lowestoft in the east, Chichester in the south to Bristol in the south west. The company’s growth is due to the ability to deliver well-managed leisure facilities and an activity offering which provides great value for money. Everyone Active aims to increase the participation of local people in leisure activities, advocating a minimum of 30 minutes exercise, five times per week. www.everyoneactive.com