MetroCentre (shopping centre) facts for kids
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The Green Quadrant of the Metrocentre
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| Location | Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England |
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| Coordinates | 54°57′25″N 1°40′08″W / 54.9569°N 1.6689°W |
| Opening date | 14 October 1986 |
| Previous names | intu Metrocentre |
| Developer | Cameron Hall Developments |
| Management | Sovereign Centros (Asset Management) & Savills (Property Management ) Centre Director, Gavin Prior |
| Owner | The Metrocentre Partnership (investors include: Church Commissioners GIC Real Estate) |
| No. of stores and services | 300 |
| No. of anchor tenants |
6
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| Total retail floor area | 2,076,000 sq ft (192,900 m2) |
| No. of floors | 2 |
| Parking | almost 10,000 spaces |
| Public transit access |
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The Metrocentre is a huge shopping centre and fun place in Gateshead, England. It's built where the old Dunston Power Station used to be, close to the River Tyne.
This giant centre opened in parts, starting on April 28, 1986. The official opening was on October 14, 1986. It has over 300 shops and covers more than 2 million square feet. This makes it the second-largest shopping centre in the UK! You can also find more shops nearby at Metro Retail Park and MetrOasis.
Contents
About Metrocentre's History
The Metrocentre was built with money from the Church Commissioners of England. The main person behind the idea was Sir John Hall and his company, Cameron Hall Developments. The land for the centre was bought in the early 1970s. The government and the local council helped make it easier to build.
The first part of the centre, called the Red Mall, opened in April 1986. It had a big supermarket and the first Marks & Spencer store outside of a city centre.
In August 1987, the MetroCentre railway station opened. It's connected to the centre by a covered walkway, making it easy for people to visit.
Changes Over the Years
In October 1995, the Metrocentre was sold to a company called Capital Shopping Centres. The Church Commissioners still owned a small part of it.
In 1997, a supermarket moved to a bigger store nearby. This allowed the Red Mall to be updated, and a new department store, Debenhams, opened there in 2004. A new bus station was also built.
In November 2006, plans were announced to update the Yellow Mall. The indoor funfair, Metroland, closed in April 2008. This area was then changed into Metrocentre Qube, which includes a food court.
Metrocentre Today
In December 2009, the Odeon cinema moved to the Qube area. In 2010, a TK Maxx Homesense store opened where the old cinema used to be. In 2012, the Central Mall became the Platinum Mall. This area focuses on more fancy stores and designer brands.
The centre changed its name to intu Metrocentre in 2013. This happened when its parent company changed its name.
In March 2018, a very large Next store opened. It took up many smaller shops and an old department store space. This made it one of the biggest Next stores in the country. Next opened another store in 2020, focusing on beauty and home items.
In October 2020, the centre changed its management. It was rebranded as The Metrocentre. The owners, the Metrocentre Partnership, include the Church Commissioners and GIC Real Estate.
Shops and Malls
The Metrocentre has five main areas, called malls: Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, and Platinum.
You can find many big shops here. Some of the largest stores include:
- Marks & Spencer (Green Mall)
- Next (Green Mall)
- Next Beauty & Home (Red Mall)
- House of Fraser (Town Square)
- Primark (Exhibition Square)
- TK Maxx (Blue Mall)
Popular fashion shops include All Saints, H&M, New Look, Next, Primark, River Island, and Zara.
Other well-known shops are Boots, Hotel Chocolat, HMV, Poundland, WH Smith, Lush, and Waterstones.
Fun Things to Do
The Metrocentre has lots of fun things to do, mostly in an area called the Qube. Here you'll find an Odeon cinema and Namco Funscape, which is an indoor arcade. These are in the Yellow Mall, where the old Metroland theme park used to be.
The Odeon cinema has 12 screens and opened in 2010. It even has a VIP lounge and an IMAX Digital screen, which was the first in the north-east of England.
Namco Funscape is on the lower floor. It's a family entertainment centre with an 18-lane ten-pin bowling alley, dodgem cars, and a soft play area. The outside of the Qube looks special with zinc and glass, showing it's the entertainment part of the centre.
The Qube also has many restaurants, like Bella Italia, Nando's, Pizza Express, YO! Sushi, and Zizzi.
The Metrocentre even has a full-time chaplain who holds services on special days like Mothering Sunday and Christmas. This reflects its early connection to the Church of England.
Metroland: The Old Funfair
Until April 2008, the Metrocentre had a huge indoor theme park called Metroland. After an update in 1996, it was called The New Metroland. It was the largest indoor amusement park in Europe! Metroland opened in February 1988. It had a roller coaster, a Ferris wheel, a pirate ship, and dodgem cars.
Metroland closed to make way for the new Qube area, with the cinema, arcade, and restaurants. Many people in the local area were sad to see it go. On its last weekend, April 19–20, 2008, the park had a 'Last Ride Weekend'. The park closed for good at 8:00 pm on April 20, 2008.
The roller coaster from Metroland was moved to another amusement park called The Big Sheep in Devon. It started running there in March 2016.
Other Shopping Areas Nearby
Metro Retail Park
The Metro Retail Park is next to the Metrocentre. It has big stores like Barker and Stonehouse and Furniture Village.
You can also find McDonald's and Pizza Hut nearby. Further west, there's a 24-hour Asda supermarket, Aldi, Greggs, and an IKEA. There's also a Marriott Hotel to the south.
metrOasis
The metrOasis area opened in September 2012. It's located between the Qube and the Metro Retail Park. This area has places to eat and drink, like Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Starbucks with drive-thrus, and a Toby Carvery.
Getting to Metrocentre
The Metrocentre has a large bus station. The MetroCentre railway station is also connected to the centre by a covered walkway. If you're driving, there are almost 10,000 parking spaces available!
Images for kids
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The Green Quadrant of the Metrocentre
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Metrocentre 2021 Logo
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The Metrocentre logo from 2004 to 2009
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The Red Mall extension
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Inside the Red Mall extension in 2007
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The New Metroland, which was once Europe's largest indoor amusement park
