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Located close to the riverside at Dunston, Gateshead, on a former industrial site, MetroCentre opened in 1986 and is the largest shopping and leisure centre in Europe. It is perhaps best known for Metroland, Europe's biggest indoor amusement park.
MetroCentre's construction was financed by the Church of England Commissioners, and was masterminded by Sir John Hall's company, Cameron Hall Developments. In 1996, the centre was sold to Capital Shopping Centres for £325m, although the Church Commissioners retain a 10% stake.
Reflecting its Church origins, MetroCentre is one of the few European shopping centres with its own chapel and resident full-time chaplain. Services are held on Sunday afternoons, with special services on occasions such as Mother's Day and Remembrance Sunday.
Most large retail chains are represented in the mall, such as Marks and Spencer, Woolworths, Argos, HMV, W H Smith, Boots and Virgin. There are also numerous places to eat and drink, with Mediterranean-themed bars and restaurants providing an alternative to the McDonalds, Pizza Hut and Wetherspoons elsewhere in the mall.
Metroland, the amusement park, was opened in February 1988 at a cost of £20 million. The park features a roller coaster, ferris wheel, pirate ship and dodgem cars among its rides.
Besides Metroland, the centre's leisure facilities include amusement arcades (with arcade games and slot machines), a bowling alley, and an 11-screen UCI cinema.
MetroCentre is currently undergoing refurbishment and expansion, with the new Red Mall extension (including new shops such as a Debenhams store) set to open in October 2004. The refurbishment programme also includes a new Transport Interchange, intended to provide improved bus links to many parts of north-east England, and accommodate coach services from elsewhere in the UK.
As well as the bus interchange, the centre has a National Rail train station, on the Tyne Valley railway line, which provides regular services to Newcastle, Sunderland, Carlisle, Teesside and Northumberland, with a twice daily service to Dumfries in south-west Scotland.
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