Institute became a drinking club. Since the end of coal mining, new leisure facilities have been constructed in Newbridge. Residents have also reported the return to the area of birds such as herons, buzzards and kestrels. After some delays, the Ebbw Valley Railway, originally running from Ebbw Vale Parkway (as of 17 May 2015 extended to Ebbw Vale Town) to Cardiff Central railway station, opened in February 2008. Newbridge is one of 8 stations on the line. A bridge linking the main town of Newbridge with the school and leisure centre over the Ebbw River was completed at a cost of over £3 million and was opened by Joe Calzaghe and his father, Enzo Calzaghe in November 2009. Sport and leisure Newbridge Rugby Union Football Club plays in the WRU Championship. Newbridge Cricket Club play on the Welfare Ground and are a South Wales Premier League side, fielding 2 senior sides plus junior sides and a Women and girls side. Newbridge Boxing Club is the base of Team Calzaghe whose famous member Joe Calzaghe retired in 2009 as an undefeated world champion. Newbridge has a public leisure centre which was opened in January 1997. The complex includes a swimming pool and a fitness suite which was enlarged from one to two floors in 2007. The second floor is a viewing area which looks over the pool. Institute & Memorial Hall The Celynen Collieries' Institute (1908) and Memorial Hall (1925) on High Street, are both listed buildings, the Memo being Grade II*. The Institute is unusual as the miners themselves built it, borrowing the money through a private mortgage. The Memo was built to commemorate the 75 Newbridge men who died in the First World War. It is still the focus of Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday activities every year. The Memo contains a ballroom with a sprung dance floor and an art deco auditorium which was designed to be both a theatre and a cinema. Both buildings now provide community facilities for local groups and societies, live music and community events but are both in urgent need of repair. After the mines closed, the Institute & Memorial Hall lost its income and became a drinking club. In 2004, when the local council was considering purchasing the land for a car park, a public meeting called by local MP Don Touhig led to the formation of The Friends of Newbridge Memo