The Marlands Shopping Centre was opened on 5 September 1991. At the time, the Marlands Shopping Mall was the largest shopping centre in Southampton and the first significant shopping centre in the city, however it is now dwarfed by WestQuay, which opened in 2000. The Marlands Shopping Centre was constructed to a postmodern design, which was described at the time of opening by one critic as looking like "something made of Lego".