THEY turned back the clock at Eastleigh over the weekend to remember that golden day when Olympic medal star Mary Peters launched the town's new sporting life.

Then hailed as "Britain's Golden Girl" of athletics she was still fresh from her triumph of capturing gold in a famous Olympic victory in Munich.

And it was 25 years ago that Eastleigh citizens turned out in force to watch the star sportswoman, who had captured the hearts of the nation, officially open the first phase of the £1 million Fleming Park Sports Centre.

Since then the Passfield Avenue building has changed its name to Fleming Park Leisure Centre but it still remains the hub of the town's sporting life.

On Sunday the leisure complex celebrated its 25th anniversary with an action-packed open day for all the family.

In 1974 the first phase of the sports centre included two swimming pools, squash courts, sauna, solarium, bar and caf facilities and administrative offices and outdoor training areas.

And phase two was also getting under way with a sports hall large enough for eight to ten badminton courts, two tennis courts and facilities for netball, basketball, volleyball and six-a-side soccer.

By providing such a state-of-the-art sports centre Eastleigh became the South's trendsetters in the leisure revolution.

And at the opening ceremony Mary Peters praised Eastleigh Council for its foresight in building such a fine centre.

She said: "I wish more councils in the country could plan now. Next year this building would cost twice as much."

Over the years the centre has continued to attract a galaxy of stars from the world of sports including the likes of soccer legend Bobby Charlton and current England boss Kevin Keegan.

And Fleming Park is set for a major sporting role in the millennium. As revealed last month by the Daily Echo a major revamp with a huge injection of private sector cash could be in the pipeline.

Plans have yet to be unveiled, but moves could be on the way to extend the existing leisure centre to include a new golf course clubhouse.

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.