Firhill Complex

Firhill Complex (not to be confused with the football stadium up the road) consists of a hall space as 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.

Sunday afternoons for many a year saw my workmates and myself headed to the Firhill Complex for an almighty game of 5s and a chunder in the toilets brought on by our pre-​shift boozing.
Skill, the likes to be seen in the summer’s world cup, was on show as we dribbled and glided our way past our opposition week after week. Scouts came and scouts went, but we stayed together as a team shunning the likes of Barca, Man Utd and Greenock Morton. Yes, we were a Sunday League Team, united in not only the beautiful game, but also heart, mind and soul. Firhill Complex was the place the dreams came true. Long live the glory days, and thank you Firhill!

As a sports centre, the Firhill Complex has never adopted the «everything under one roof» mantra.
While its competitors open bars, invest in X-​Box stations and offer function suites, this Maryhill facility has kept things about the sport which is why the prices and facilities remain better than most.
Offering a gym, four 5-​a-​side pitches, a games hall and classes in a wide variety of sports, its introduction revitalised a struggling area of the city and it is now used by hundreds of individuals on a weekly basis, as well as many groups and schools.
Its lack of investment in non-​essentials allowed it to install a top of the range astroturf 11-​a-​side (or four 7-​a-​side) pitch in the early noughties which, although now showing a little wear and tear, remains good enough for usage by professional teams, having hosted several youth team matches in recent years.
In saying that, for those with knee problems, the current state of the pitch perhaps lacks enough «give» to offer a regular game.

The Firehill Sports Complex is a great place to join as it is one of the cheapest sports centres in the 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 :-)