Background: The expediency of the study lies in the need of the society to address the issue of improving the level of physical activity and health of the Ukrainians. To do this, it is necessary to rely on scientifically grounded ideas about the essence of sports and leisure complexes that meet the needs of the population. Therefore, the purpose of this work is to specify the meaning of the concept of "sports and leisure complex". Methods: To achieve the goal of the study, the following tasks are consistently solved: analysis of scientific works that cover various aspects of the formation and development of sports and leisure objects; exposure of the essence of the life processes that are localized in the structure of the studied objects; analysis of the conceptual and terminological apparatus used in the research of modern sports and leisure activities in related scientific domains; specification of the concept of "sports and leisure complex" in the architectural and town-planning sphere. Results: Analysis of the scientific literature and practical experience on the research topic proves that current trends in the society and sports development, as well as prospects for convergence of amateur and professional approach to sport necessitate the development of new approaches to architectural and urban organization of sports and leisure complexes. Conclusions: Sports and leisure complex is a special material and spatial formation of the urban environment, which meets the needs of citizens in realization of the creative potential and self-actualization of a person at leisure in the form of physical loading as well as recovery of physical, spiritual and intellectual, energy, psycho-emotional resources. Different forms of functional and spatial organization of sports and leisure complexes are determined by the dominant type of physical activity, the needs of users, town-planning conditions, the author's idea. These objects provide not only sports and recreation activities, but also informal social communication, which contributes to strengthening of urban communities.

Nowadays there is an urgent need for Ukrainians to meet the demands of quality, diversity and availability of sports services. Therefore, sports and leisure complexes, which are integrated into the urban infrastructure, act as interactive public spaces with tactile surfaces. Analysis of foreign practical experience in the formation of sports and leisure complexes demonstrates what it means to move around the city, breathe new life into abandoned places and how the architecture of modern life is changing. The countries of China, Russia, and Denmark were analyzed. This analysis showed that the typical objects for leisure activities are: 1) Squares, parking lots with integrated sports and leisure areas; 2) Separate specialized buildings of sports and leisure centers or centers of youth culture with different sports; 3) Open public spaces in parks, residential complexes, preschool education constructions, health centers. The analysis of the features of sports and leisure complexes formation in the territory of Ukraine allowed to reveal two groups. The first group consists of outdoor areas, which contain outdoor simulators or sports complex workout for trainings, both for professional athletes and amateurs. The second group of sports and leisure complexes contains "urban parks" as centers for the development of street culture, which has become a part of the state youth policy. The analysis of foreign and domestic practical experience of architectural and urban planning formation of sports and leisure complexes proved that there is an active implementation of the advanced world concepts related to a healthy lifestyle in Ukraine. At the same time, the design of sports and leisure complexes is at the stage of formation and requires the development of special methods, as well as research in terms of typological, structural-functional and planning analysis. Determination of the factors influencing the development of the studied objects and the principles of their formation is needed. This can be considered as the next stage of this research.