The Pickaquoy Centre

The Pickaquoy Centre, commonly known locally as the Picky Centre or simply the Picky, is a large multi-use leisure complex in Kirkwall, Orkney, Scotland. It serves as one of the Northern Isles’ principal venues for sport, recreation, entertainment and community activity. Rather than operating as a conventional consumer-product brand, it is a place-based leisure-services brand whose identity is closely connected with Orkney’s local population, schools, sports clubs, visitors and community organisations. The centre first opened for public use in late 1998 and received its formal opening on 16 April 1999 by the Princess Royal. Its development provided Orkney with a consolidated venue for activities that would otherwise require separate facilities, including swimming, fitness training, indoor and outdoor sports, athletics, meetings, children’s recreation, cinema screenings and hospitality. The centre is described as the largest leisure centre in the Northern Isles, giving it an unusually broad role within the islands’ sporting and social infrastructure. Its sports provision includes two swimming pools: a full-length Olympic-size pool and a separate leisure pool. The centre also has multiple gyms, an indoor sports arena with capacity for approximately 1,600 spectators, three indoor squash courts, an all-weather artificial-turf pitch, grass football and rugby pitches, and an athletics track. The arena’s retractable or adaptable seating allows it to function both as a spectator venue and as a large indoor sports hall. Football grounds associated with the site are used by Orkney F.C. and by Orkney representative football teams, while the wider facilities support football, hockey, rugby, athletics and other recreational activities. The venue’s offering extends beyond formal sport. It includes meeting rooms, a health spa, indoor and outdoor children’s play areas, a café and bar, and a campsite located within the grounds. The New Phoenix Cinema provides a dedicated film venue with seating for 247 people. For younger visitors, Jungle World offers indoor soft play, while an outdoor play park provides an additional family-oriented attraction. The Picky Café and Arena Bar add food, beverage and social functions to the complex, helping the centre operate as a broader day-to-evening destination rather than solely as a gym or sports hall. A major expansion began in 2012 and added two swimming pools, three squash courts and another gym. The expanded facilities were formally opened in 2013, again by the Princess Royal. This project strengthened the centre’s role as a comprehensive leisure hub and broadened its capacity for both individual users and organised sport. The Pickaquoy Centre’s positioning is fundamentally local and community-oriented. Its scale allows it to host everyday exercise and family recreation alongside competitive sport, public events, cinema visits, meetings and tourism-related services. Its campus model, combining indoor facilities, outdoor pitches, entertainment, hospitality and camping, makes it particularly significant in the geographically dispersed context of Orkney. Publicly available reference material does not establish a separate commercial parent company, founder, listed status or financial profile for the centre.

The Pickaquoy Centre was developed as a major leisure complex for Kirkwall and the wider Orkney community. It opened to the public in late 1998, establishing a central venue where residents and visitors could access swimming, fitness, indoor sport, outdoor pitches, events and community services. Its formal opening took place on 16 April 1999 and was conducted by the Princess Royal. From the beginning, the centre was designed as a multi-use campus rather than a single-purpose sports building. Its facilities included swimming provision, gyms, an arena, outdoor pitches and an athletics track, together with meeting rooms and spaces for social and family activities. The sports arena, with seating for around 1,600 people, could be configured for spectator events or used as a large indoor sports hall. Outdoor facilities supported football, rugby, hockey and athletics, while the site also accommodated community and club use. The centre’s role expanded beyond sport through the inclusion of hospitality, children’s activities, cinema and camping. The New Phoenix Cinema created a dedicated local screening venue, while Jungle World and the outdoor play area broadened the complex’s appeal to families. The Picky Café and Arena Bar provided food and refreshments, and meeting rooms enabled public, organisational and community gatherings. The Orkney Campsite, located on the grounds, added a visitor-accommodation function to the leisure campus. In 2012, construction began on a significant extension. The project added two swimming pools, three squash courts and an additional gym, increasing both the variety and capacity of the centre’s facilities. The expanded complex was officially opened in 2013, again by the Princess Royal. The extension reinforced the Pickaquoy Centre’s status as one of the most substantial leisure facilities in the Northern Isles. Today, the centre is recognised as a central recreational and community venue in Kirkwall. Its activities range from everyday exercise, swimming and children’s play to organised football, rugby, hockey, athletics, cinema attendance, meetings and larger indoor events. The centre’s significance comes from the breadth of its services and from its ability to support local residents, sports organisations, schools, community groups and visitors within a single site. Publicly available reference material does not provide a documented founder, corporate ownership structure, executive roster or financial history.

• 2013

  Expanded facilities opened

  [1]The Pickaquoy Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The extension, including two swimming pools, three squash courts and another gym, was formally opened by the Princess Royal.

• 2012

  Expansion construction begins

  [1]The Pickaquoy Centreen.wikipedia.org

  Construction began on an extension adding swimming, squash and gym capacity.

• 1999

  Formal inauguration

  [1]The Pickaquoy Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The centre was officially opened on 16 April 1999 by the Princess Royal.

• 1998

  Public opening

  [1]The Pickaquoy Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The Pickaquoy Centre opened for public use in late 1998 as a multi-use leisure facility in Kirkwall.

A comprehensive, community-focused leisure and entertainment hub for Orkney, combining high-capacity sports infrastructure with family recreation, cinema, hospitality, meetings and tourism services.

• Aquatic leisure · 1998

  Swimming facilities

  The centre provides two swimming pools: a full-length Olympic-size pool intended for swimming and aquatic activities, and a separate leisure pool designed for recreational use. Together they serve structured sport, fitness, family recreation and general leisure needs.

• Fitness services · 1998

  Fitness and gym facilities

  The Pickaquoy Centre operates multiple gyms supporting general fitness and exercise. An additional gym was introduced through the major extension completed in the early 2010s, increasing the centre’s ability to serve members and casual users.

• Sports venues · 1998

  Sports arena

  The indoor sports arena has seating for approximately 1,600 spectators and can be adapted for use as a large indoor sports hall. It provides a venue for sporting events, training, community activity and other gatherings requiring substantial covered space.

• Sports venues · 1998

  Outdoor sports facilities

  Outdoor provision includes an all-weather artificial-turf pitch used for football and hockey, grass pitches used for football and rugby, and an athletics track. The football grounds host Orkney F.C. and Orkney representative football activity.

• Cinema and entertainment

  New Phoenix Cinema

  The New Phoenix Cinema is the centre’s dedicated cinema venue. It has seating for 247 people and adds film entertainment to the complex’s sports, recreation and community functions.

• Children's recreation

  Jungle World

  Jungle World is an indoor soft-play area for children. Together with the centre’s outdoor play park, it gives the Pickaquoy Centre a family-oriented recreational offer alongside its sports and entertainment facilities.

• Camping and tourism

  Orkney Campsite

  The Orkney Campsite is situated within the grounds of the Pickaquoy Centre. Its presence links the leisure complex to visitor accommodation and tourism, allowing campers to access the wider centre’s recreational and hospitality services.

• 2012

  Expansion of the leisure complexStrategy

  Background

  The existing centre was expanded to increase aquatic, racquet-sport and fitness capacity.

  Action taken

  Construction began on an extension adding two swimming pools, three squash courts and another gym.

  Aftermath

  The expanded facilities were formally opened in 2013, broadening the centre’s already extensive leisure and sports offer.

  Source

1. 1The Pickaquoy Centreen.wikipedia.org
2. 2The Pickaquoy Centre official informationorkneycommunities.co.uk