IT has provided hours of fun for hundreds of people over the years but Maltby Sports Centre was finally consigned to history when it was reduced to rubble this week.
Our exclusive pictures show how the bulldozers moved in to pull down the disused centre off Braithwell Road, which closed when the new multi-million pound Maltby Leisure Centre on a neighbouring site opened last month.
The remains of the old building will not go to waste, though, as the 4,000 tonnes of concrete and brick rubble produced in the demolition will be ground down and used in the restoration and landscaping of the site.
Demolition specialists Ron Hull took over the site at the end of January and, after preparation work, took just a fortnight to complete the demolition.
Director Nigel Hull said: “One of our specialist teams was brought in to remove asbestos from the structure and the building was also soft-stripped, which is to say that all the furnishings, fixtures and fittings were taken out.
“The main demolition phase of the operation has actually taken just a couple of weeks and has been very straightforward, although I have to say that it was quite unusual to see a 50-ton demolition machine heading for the deep end of a swimming pool.
“We now have another three or four weeks of work ahead of us to clear up and level the site.
“Once that's done we'll be laying new topsoil to accept grass seed.”
Mr Hull said that the bulldozers had attracted a lot of interest, with Maltby folk keen to watch the long-standing landmark being consigned to history.
“While everyone seems impressed with the new leisure centre, quite a few of the locals have told us that they have very happy memories of times spent in the pools at the old place,” he added.
“Almost everything from the site is being recycled. All the steel and other metals from the structure are being removed to the Ron Hull recycling centre in Rotherham and the rubble is being processed so the hardcore can be used in the site reconstruction.
“It has been a very green operation.
“Absolutely everything that could be reused has been recovered. Nothing is wasted.
“By the summer there should be nothing but memories to indicate that the old sports centre was ever here.”