HUNDREDS have flooded into St Mary's Leisure Centre as it reopened its doors to the public.
The centre, which was closed in December last year, welcomed the community back for a free drop-in session yesterday evening.
Here, people were told what was on offer and were given the chance to try out some of the sports including basketball, football, badminton and table tennis.
READ MORE: St Mary's Leisure Centre to reopen in Southampton next week
One visitor to the centre was 18-year-old Abdourahman Sanneh who joined his friends for a game of basketball.
He said: "It is just good to be back. I was really shocked when it closed. It is so good for your mental health.
"I didn’t think it was possible that it was going to shut down. It is a massive part of St Mary's."
St Mary's was closed in December last year under the previous Tory-run council argued that the costs of running the centre were too much.
But soon after Labour took control of the council, the new leader, Cllr Satvir Kaur, pledged to reopen the site.
She said: "Everyone in the community worked extremely hard during the campaign and I’m thrilled that as a new Labour council we were able to deliver on our promise.
"We are in one of the most deprived communities, not only in Southampton, but in the country.
"Accessible and affordable leisure isn’t always an option for families here so it’s so great that we were able to reopen St Mary’s Leisure Centre for them."
Another user of the complex was 13-year-old Sulaiman, who used to attend Taekwando sessions at St Mary's.
He told the Echo: "It is an amazing place with such a diverse community. Every one is enjoying themselves.
"I was really annoyed when the centre closed."
His brother, 11-year-old Shahzain added: "It is really exciting to see it come back."
After the closure, a campaign was launched by members of the community to argue for its reopening.
Since bookings restarted again, many people are said to have signed up with basketball and football clubs.
Council leisure boss, Lorna Fielker, said: "It really does show that people want this in their community. They haven’t just come because we told them to.
"We have had lots of people already make bookings. It is the heart of St Mary’s."
One activity which is already booked is 'Active Through Football', a scheme to get young people involved with free football activities in the area.
Jane Yates who was promoting the scheme at St Mary's said she had never seen so many girls interested in joining before.
"Our aim is to get people in this area active. That is what has been missing. We have had just as many girls in as boys."
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