Sportcity
Sportcity Manchester is a sports district in the City of Manchester, and was used to host of the 2002 Commonwealth Games.[1] It is located in east Manchester, less than a mile away from Manchester city centre and was developed on former industrial land including the site of Bradford Colliery.
Sportcity's largest structure, the City of Manchester Stadium which was built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games, is now home to Manchester City F.C. and one of the largest football stadiums in England. The Manchester Velodrome is the base for British Cycling and the National Indoor BMX Arena was completed in 2011. SportCity is home to the National Squash Centre and the Manchester Regional Arena for athletics. Future developments will include Manchester City's £50m training complex and a leisure complex.
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[edit] Location and venues
The Sportcity complex is based in east Manchester, in Beswick and Bradford. A visitor centre provides information the site's history from a heavily industrialised area to its ongoing regeneration.[2] The Etihad Campus Metrolink station on the Manchester Metrolink close to Joe Mercer Way will be operational in time for the 2012–13 football season.[3]
[edit] City of Manchester Stadium
The City of Manchester Stadium, CoMS was used for the 2002 Commonwealth Games and is the home of Manchester City Football Club. The stadium with twelve 70 metre high masts has become a landmark on the Manchester skyline.
[edit] Manchester Velodrome
The Manchester Velodrome was built for Manchester Olympic bids in the 1990s and used for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. The velodrome had a lasting legacy and in the Beijing Olympics in 2008, the British cycling team - based at the velodrome - dominated the cycling events.[4][5] The track has garnered a reputation for speed and by 30 March 2008, more than 15 world records had been set there,[1] including Chris Boardman's 1996 and 2000 hour records and the 4000 metre team pursuit record set by the Great Britain men's team at the 2008 World Championships.
[edit] National BMX Arena
British Cycling and Manchester City Council, in partnership with New East Manchester worked together to deliver the 110,000-square-foot (10,000 m2) National Indoor BMX Centre which opened in 2011.[6] It was designed by Ellis Williams Architects, and built by contractors Sir Robert McAlpine. Alongside the velodrome, the £24 million complex will form the National Cycling Centre. It has 2,000 seats, a BMX area and offices for the headquarters of the British Cycling Federation.[7]
[edit] Manchester Regional Arena
The Manchester Regional Arena is a multipurpose stadium at SportCity primarily used for athletics and association football. It was developed as the warm-up track for the 2002 Commonwealth Games held in the adjacent City of Manchester Stadium. It has hosted the AAA Championships and Paralympic World Cup, and was the reserve home ground of Manchester City reserves before the team moved to Ewen Fields in June 2010.
[edit] The National Squash Centre
The National Squash Centre is another part of the Sportcity complex which was constructed for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Costing approximately £3.5m, the facilities include six courts and a glass-walled show court which cost £110,000. The show court is moveable: it floats on air like a hovercraft and can be positioned in the athletics hall for major tournaments. All the courts can be converted into singles or doubles courts at the touch of a button.
[edit] Further development
[edit] Manchester City plans
In March 2010, Manchester City signed an agreement with Manchester City Council and the New East Manchester Agency to explore alternative leisure proposals to replace the regional casino planned to be built next to the City of Manchester Stadium.[8] The agreement gave the club permission to build and expand its facilities.[8]
The club plans to move its academy from Carrington Training Centre closer to the City of Manchester Stadium. The training complex will be based on AC Milan's Milanello facility[11] which is considered to be one of the best in world football.[11] The £50m million training facility will house all the playing staff when the youth academy moves from Platt Lane.[12]
After increasing ticket sales and selling 36,000 season tickets for the 2010-11 season[13] Manchester City is considering increasing the stadium's capacity. The stadium is currently leased to the club and its owners are believed to want to buy it.[14] The increased capacity could be 60,000, achieved by adding a third tier to the north and south stands.[10] A capacity increase to 75,000 has been speculated encouraged by the club's desire to host key internationals if England won the right to host the 2018 World Cup.[15] Reports have speculated the club wish to create the largest stadium in England in keeping with the owners' ambition to create the best football club on and off the pitch.[16]
The stadium lease was renegotiated in October 2010 and Manchester City will pay Manchester City Council £3 million a year rather than paying half the revenue over 35,000 ticket sales which amounted to approximately £2 million.[17] The higher £3 million payment agreement signals the club is looking to develop the stadium.[17] The agreement shows Manchester City's willingness to "consider potential development as part of a contribution to the regeneration of east Manchester".[17]
[edit] Leisure complex
Preliminary preparation began in April 2010 with remediation of the 17 acres (6.9 ha) site around the stadium.[18][19]
Jack Rouse Associates, the company that owns Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi emerged as a possible developer. A mixed-use development was listed on its website in October 2010.[20]
[edit] Supercasino
SportCity was the proposed location for a SuperCasino[21] which, it was hoped, would spur re-generation in the area, but the plan was rejected by the House of Lords.[22]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "The Games". Commonwealth Games Legacy. Archived from the original on 2007-10-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20071027061504/http://www.gameslegacy.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi/4. Retrieved 2007-12-05.
- ^ Welcome to SportCity, SportCity Manchester, http://www.sportcity-manchester.com/visitor.asp, retrieved 2011-11-30
- ^ Metrolink - East Manchester line, (Transport for Greater Manchester), http://www.metrolink.co.uk/futuremetrolink/east-manchester-line.asp, retrieved 21 November 2011
- ^ "How GB cycling went from tragic to magic". BBC Sport. 14 August 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics/cycling/7534073.stm. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
- ^ "How Team GB's weekend of glory happened". Metro. 17 August 2009. http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/olympics/article.html?in_article_id=268147&in_page_id=310. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
- ^ National BMX Centre opens in Manchester, The BBC, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-14437168, retrieved 2011-11-30
- ^ National Indoor BMX Centre, Sir Robert McAlpine.com, http://www.sir-robert-mcalpine.com/projects/?id=31346, retrieved 2011-11-30
- ^ a b c "MCFC and Manchester City Council sign agreement on proposals for east Manchester". mcfc.co.uk. 12 March 2010. http://www.mcfc.co.uk/News/Club-news/2010/March/Council-and-City-partnership-story. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
- ^ "City owners buy factory site for £17m in hush-hush deal". crainsmanchesterbusiness.co.uk. 22 March 2010. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:86LR_WWtJvQJ:www.crainsmanchesterbusiness.co.uk/article/20100322/SUB/303229975+clayton+aniline+city&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
- ^ a b Taylor, Daniel (18 August 2009). "Manchester City's grand plan for Eastlands and its surrounds". London: guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/aug/18/manchester-city-stadium-upgrade-eastlands. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
- ^ a b Smith, Ben (12 March 2010). "Manchester City agree £1 billion stadium development deal". London: timesonline.co.uk. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/manchester_city/article7059433.ece. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
- ^ "Manchester City planning new £50million training HQ". mirrorfootball.co.uk. 6 March 2010. http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Manchester-City-planning-new-50million-training-HQ-article346211.html. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
- ^ "Manchester City SeasonCards sell out". mcfc.co.uk. 20 August 2010.
- ^ "Dan King: Manchester City edge closer to Eastlands purchase from council". London: dailymail.co.uk. 29 November 2009. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-1231869/Dan-King-Manchester-City-edge-closer-Eastlands-purchase-council.html. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
- ^ "City rival United for semi". newsoftheworld.co.uk. 6 September 2010. http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/sport/football/942403/CITY-RIVAL-UNITED-FOR-SEMI.html. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
- ^ "Man City stadium poised to become bigger than Old Trafford - Exclusive". mirrorfootball.co.uk. 3 April 2010. http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Manchester-City-s-stadium-poised-to-become-bigger-than-Manchester-United-s-Old-Trafford-ground-and-spark-a-ticket-revolution-Exclusive-article379025.html. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
- ^ a b c "Manchester City give council an extra £1m". www.menmedia.co.uk. 2 October 2010. http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1338690_manchester_city_give_council_an_extra_1m. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
- ^ "Manchester City stadium regeneration gets green light". building.co.uk. 12 March 2010. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:2nD7ql0H3P4J:www.building.co.uk/news/manchester-city-stadium-regeneration-gets-green-light/3159849.article+manchester+city+townshend+remediation&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
- ^ "Car park information for fans". mcfc.co.uk. 7 April 2010. http://www.mcfc.co.uk/News/Club-news/2010/April/Car-park-info-for-fans. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
- ^ "Futbol World - Manchester, England". www.jackrouse.com. October 2010. http://www.jackrouse.com/work/project-details.cfm?index=2&box_id=105. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
- ^ "Manchester is surprise casino winner". BBC. 2007-01-30. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6312707.stm. Retrieved 2007-12-05.
- ^ Branigan, Tania (2007-03-29). "Lords throw out plans for Manchester supercasino". London: The Guardian. http://politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffairs/story/0,,2045198,00.html. Retrieved 2007-12-05.
