When I was in Glasgow on Wednesday 17 July 2019 , the Kelvin Hall International Sports Arena was…read morehousing a T-rex exhibit. Banners along the streets marked that the critter skeleton was in town and observable at Kelvin Hall from 18 April 2019 through 31 July 2019. I was a little confused as the exhibit hall looked to be part of an indoor sports arena. It was a wee bit of culture shock for me, and I was like - am I in the right place. Sure enough, a worker at the front desk pointed me towards the exhibit. The T-rex was pretty neat and had a lit-up informational display approach. Is it glow in the dark ink or an electronic display, or just really bright ink... Walking around in the exhibit was easy as the floorpan was well designed for human bipedal locomotion. A gift shop by the exhibit hall exit provided physical offerings to remember one's experience(s) by.

I was all set to give Kelvinhall three stars - partly for being such a beautiful historic building…read more(from the outside), and partly for the nice staff who work there. That was until last night, when I discovered that the water in the taps in all the changing rooms is apparently not fit for human consumption. W-w-w-w-hat?! In a sports hall? Where there is no access to water that is ok for drinking (apart from in the gym). I visit Kelvinhall twice a week and have been drinking the tap water for around a year ... I was horrified. You'd think they'd put up a sign at least? Apart from that, Kelvinhall is closing for refurbishment sometime this year so don't expect anything flash at the moment. Here's hoping they do something nice with it for it's reopening (and sort out the water!)

Before playing at Lochinch I was a little worried about the 3G pitch. 3G is an artificial turf made…read moreup of artificial grass "blades" on top of a layer of sand and foam. But in rugby you're hitting the ground pretty hard and pretty often, and after playing on other, albeit much older, artificial pitches before I was worried about friction burns and the general harshness of the ground. But my worries were unfounded. The 3G pitch was great to play on. It had the right amount of give, didn't hurt anymore than usual when you were tackled or slid down on the ball and provided a great level of grip in the scrums. The changing rooms and club house was clean and well presented and the bar was thankfully well stocked to help us ease our pains afterwards. Our hosts, Police Scotland Glasgow RFC were very welcoming and shared a few pitchers of larger with us afterwards. Even though we beat them 24-26 ;)

Lochinch is situated in the beautiful surrounds of Pollok Country Park just minutes from the city…read morecentre, on the south side of Glasgow. This club offers a number of meeting and function rooms, as well as access to the SPRA sports pitches andchanging facilities at extremely competitive prices. Lochinch offers SPRA members, and their families, a superb location for birthday, retirement and engagement celebrations as well as wedding and other types of receptions. From a formaldinner to a more relaxed 'party' setting our function suite is fully adaptable. unfortunatly the downside is you need to be related to or have a friend who works for the police but the venue is a great place to hold a special occasion. I had my 21st here and the buffet was great, the drinks were very well priced and the Dj kept the music playing all night, we had very little to organise. Just the decorations. Also worth a visit during rugby season to see burly policemen play against other burly rugby players- not the worst way to spend a saturday.

I've been past this sports centre many times as I have never had a reason to go before but the…read moreInternational Children's Games (ICG) Lanarkshire took me this way. When I entered I was greeted by friendly and helpful staff. The building reminds me of my old high school in a way through some of its features. It was probably built around the same time under Strathclyde Regional Council standard designs. It has most of the usual facilities of a sports centre but the main reason I was there was to film the athletics. The sports centre has a large outdoor track and field. The children could run around the track while there was shot put and high jump competing at the same time. They had also set up a long jump. The facilites where excellent and the centre did an excellent job as they were still catering to the public as well as the games going on. The Centre is a pleasant venue although slighty dated but still good for various sports facilites.

How has no one reviewed this yet?! So I've been to Emirates a few time now and seen the basketball…read moretwice (Go Rocks) as well as cycling at the velodrome. I know there's more to Emirates than that, but I feel like I've properly experienced sporting events here and the arena. And wow, it is amazing. It's new, shiny, clean and pretty industrial looking but without an unpleasant cold feeling to it. The events I've been to here are well organised, there are always lots of staff around who are friendly and helpful. On our most recent visit we got a Clyde souvenir for my nephew back in Australia from the gift shop, the guy working there was really friendly and had good chat. I didn't even mind that they don't have card facilities here yet (it's been open at least 6 months) so you get your card put through the old-school manual machines. It made me laugh to be honest, I did feel sorry for him though as he seemed a bit embarrassed. The velodrome has great seating and is a brilliant place to watch cycling - a sport I previously had no interest in whatsoever, but we thought we'd head along to check it out. The basketball is also really good and has great facilities for disabled seating, you still get a really great view even though you're at the back on the top level. The food and drink is reasonably priced too, not like most other sporting events you go to. I can't wait for the Commonwealth Games and will be vying for tickets to as many events as possible, especially here at the Emirates. I noticed when we were leaving the cycling that they had buses to take people back into town. I have no idea if these are free, but they must be quite handy as Emirates could be difficult to get to otherwise (unless by car). Looking at the website, there is also a Glasgow Life gym here and a spa. It pretty much has everything ... apart from card facilities and a cash machine!

I go to the Emirates on a Monday to do a shabam class (dance fitness class) the arena is on the…read moreother side of the city from where I live but the teacher who takes the class is crazy and total keeps you going. The centre is big spacious and modern. Lots of changing rooms and plenty of access for disabled people. I was also lucky enough to get tickets to the velodrome during the commonwealth games (where we saw sir Chris Hoy, I couldn't take my eyes of his thighs ) I was warned before going about the extreme temperatures and wore light clothing and took a fan, which was much needed. It was an amazing experience, I didn't have a clue of the rules but it was exhilarating to watch and believe me the New Zealand team in lycra was an added treat.. Would highly recommend.

I've only been to Scotstoun for the rugby at the stadium, so my review relates to that…read more The stadium is fairly small, about 1/10 capacity of Ibrox or Parkhead. There's only 3 stands at Scotstoun, but at £15 for a standing ticket (in advance) you can't complain about watching Glasgow's only pro rugby team. Watching rugby live isn't like watching it on TV, the atmosphere is much better than you'd expect for 6000 people. On match days you'll find plenty of small food trucks, a dedicated Guinness bar (pro12 sponsors) as well as the clubhouse which has a bar, food & pre/post match entertainment. There's a merchant stall as well as a kids zone to keep the wains entertained. The one difference between football & rugby games is that you'll find some of the players wandering around & taking part in passing circles with kids etc. If you've never been down to a rugby match at Scotstoun, then you're missing out on a great afternoon/evening. There's beer as well!

Surprisingly for such a large swimming pool, it is possible to catch a quiet time in here: although…read moreit is used by schools and has a large programme of lessons, there is always space for a few leisurely lengths. In line with the general run of Glasgow Council's pools, the centre is immaculately clean, and a gym membership covers all of the Council's sports' facilities. The gym is busy and businesslike: Scoutstoun is the ideal place for a complete work out, even if it is some distance from the town centre and slightly off the beaten track. The sauna suite suite is especially impressive, with a women only night on Tuesday, but it always worth catching a class or two. The Body Combat is good for a high energy laugh.

Firhill Complex (not to be confused with the football stadium up the road) consists of a hall space…read moreas well as football 5-a-side pitches. Having never been on the pitches I won't comment on these. The complex is easy to find off Maryhill Road, and has its own parking lot. Sometimes this can get quite busy but there is space on a gravel section where you can park if all the spots are gone. Walking through the car park, be sure to watch out for flying footballs from the pitches as this tends to happen quite a bit. Inside the building is pretty basic. There's a foyer area where people are always milling about, change rooms and toilets for getting ready. These areas are somewhat well kept, I think they could lift their game a little bit. The hall is the part I am most familiar with, and love for sentimental reasons. This is where I first started training to play roller derby so I have many happy memories from training here with Glasgow Roller Derby. I've been back a couple of times recently for extra training sessions. The hall isn't perfect by any stretch - the floor has some bolts and rough patches in part but generally it is kept clean and tidy. They're very prompt at closing at 10 so be sure to get yourself out and into your car quick smart - once all the lights in the car park are off, this area can seem a little scary.

The Firehill Sports Complex is a great place to join as it is one of the cheapest sports centres in…read morethe city. As it is a sport and leisure facility aimed at local people it offers an extensive range of activities from football to yoga. The complex can accommodate individuals in the fitness room which also hosts exercise classes and it can also host doubles in badminton and short tennis. If you like a game of football then the large pitches can accommodate up to 100 people - lots of teams. I've been to some of the exercises classes and I really enjoyed them. The instructor was great; she worked the class hard but I left feeling fit and very proud of myself :-)

Although the facilities here may be overshadowed by some mega-sports complexes, Bellahouston…read moreLeisure Centre is in a great location and has wonderful staff. They're chatty, friendly, full of information - and if they can't tell you something then they go out of their way to find someone who can. I've had pool guards politely step in to help teach my son and daughter to swim - just little tips to help the parental lessons. When I turned up without change for the pool lockers (it's a £1 coin), a member of staff took 90-something pence from me and told me not to worry about the pennies. The gym is good and personal trainers are available, and the main hall is used frequently for sporting tuition and markets. Even the canteen is pleasant with its view of the pool. Quibbles? The car park often gets rammed due to sheer popularity and you have to be at least 16 (I think) to look after another child in the swimming pool. This makes it a little awkward for me to take all three of our kids unless my wife joins us. Talking of kids, if you live in Glasgow make sure they sign up for their free "Kidz Card" as it gives whopping discounts here.

Great sports Centre as a memeber of the Glasgow Club I can access all the facilities here, I must…read moreadmit at the moment I am only using the cycle track trying to get as much outdoor skating as I can. Great surface, the cyclist do not seem to mind the lone wee wummin skooting about on her roller skates. On Sunday met a lot of children having cycling awareness lessons the kids were great fun to be with and they were all so polite.

This is one of Glasgow Councils bigger leisure centers, has a good sized pool for the adults who…read morewant a proper swim, as well as a more fun pool with rapids and a shoot for the young and young at heart. Large halls available for hire, ranging from badminton to football, just one thing try and avoid hiring a court next to the aerobic classes, way to loud, get fit and get hearing damage at the same time. Recently opened a new gym here as well, haven't had a chance to go in yet but I hear it is a vast improvement over the old one which was rather tight on space. Parking is good, free onsite .... makes life a bit easier

The Gorbals Leisure Centre was the flagship in Glasgow's attempt to modernise its facilities: apart…read morefrom some teething troubles in the early years, it has become a well-used and popular location. The gym is a small, compared to Bellahouston and lacks much in the way of free weights: most of the space is given over to cardiovascular equipment like treadmills. But, it has the little TV screens on each item, so you can watch Jeremy Kyle as you pound out the miles. The swimming pool is the big attraction- it has a smaller pool for kids, with rapids and a circuit that turns into a desperate race against the artificial tide. There are also jacuzzis by this pool, which end up being the main attraction. Most people fit in their lengths of the main pool when the jacuzzi is switched off to be refreshed. The sauna and jacuzzi suite is larger- and even more popular. The first time I went there, I noticed many men standing at the large windows that look over the pool. "That's odd," I thought. "I wouldn't stand over there, in case the people in the pool below thought I was leching at the women in bikinis." Well, at least I can get a steam room to myself.