Yeah - I was thinking that about community centres/social clubs as I wrote it.  Up on the Wirral where my sister now lives, when she was first married to her new husband he, the father-in-law and others of the family took me out to their local club.  Part working men's club, part quintessential middle class sporting club - you know with pitches, snooker, bars, ladies room and so on.

There the rite of passage is getting taken there by your father, cousin, brother or whatever the first time, usually in your early teens, usually at first to special events- the bonfire, the cup final, the New Years Eve party, then going along with all the other youngsters (with your new "junior membership" card that will get taken from you if you abuse the privilege).

Perhaps one interesting difference between there and, say, here in Oxford, is that these clubs are not council provided in any way.  Of course on the Wirral some of them (the one my sister had her wedding reception in for example) were provided by employers for their workforce - Level Brothers being the main one there.  Others were a gift of land on which the local community got together and subscribed to build something of their own.

They are really proud of them.  Not like people (ie the wider community of potential users as opposed to the "usual suspects" on the commiittee) are here of their council community centres, recreaton ground pavilions and so on, usually run down, fighting for capital against other council "priorities".  I don't know if such things could now be sustained just by "community ownership" and individual subscriptions when, as you say, there are other more immediate pleasures to be had.  Maybe it could be used as a way of using and better maintaining school playing fields and sports facilities - turning them into community owned assets and hubs of community activity outside and inside school hours for example.

But I do think there's got to be some proper community ownership rather than a feeling that thigns are "provided" by some fairy god-mother "at the council".