Crystal Palace National Sports Centre

The Crystal Palace National Sports Centre stands in Crystal Palace Park in south London. The park once held the grand Crystal Palace Exhibition building, destroyed by fire in 1936. The sports centre opened in 1964 on the same ground that had hosted the FA Cup finals from 1895 to 1914. It is one of five national sports centres managed by Greenwich Leisure Limited under the Better brand. The athletics stadium can seat 15,500 and expand to 24,000 with temporary seats. International athletics meetings and open-air concerts by artists such as Coldplay and Bruce Springsteen have taken place here. The indoor sports building is a Grade II* listed structure designed by the LCC Architects Department under Norman Engleback between 1953 and 1954. Its central concourse has an exposed concrete frame supporting a roof lined with folded teak. On one side is a 50-metre competition pool and a diving pool with a concrete platform. The other side houses a sports arena used for basketball and gymnastics. A hexagonal tower once provided accommodation for 130 athletes. The pools have been closed since 2020 for repairs funded by the Greater London Authority. Visitors find a large open-air stadium with a West Stand and a smaller Jubilee Stand built in 1977. The Grade II* listed indoor building shows careful planning with its concrete frame and teak roof lining. The central concourse leads to the pools and sports arena. The park around the centre contains the remains of the old exhibition site and the cricket ground where W. G. Grace once played. The stadium’s history includes FA Cup finals, rugby internationals and athletics meetings that shaped British sport.