Birmingham is set to become the home of UK athletics after a £12.25 million redevelopment of the Alexander Stadium was today given the go ahead.
And that could mean the top athletes in the world competing in Birmingham on an annual basis, paving the way for major championships to be based in the city.
Birmingham City Council Cabinet has approved the full business case for the self-financing project which features:
- A new 5,000-seater stand – taking the capacity to 12,800 with scope for temporary seating subject to demand.
- Office space for up to 250 people
- A new state-of-the art gym facility for local residents
UK Athletics (UKA) are looking to base themselves at a sports facility with office accommodation and look set to move to the Alexander Stadium, while a number of other National Governing Bodies have also expressed interest in relocating to Birmingham.
The redevelopment also means Birmingham could be home to the British Diamond League, joining the likes of New York, Rome and Monaco as one of 12 cities hosting the top 80 athletes in the world in a series of high profile annual events.
Leader of Birmingham City Council Cllr Mike Whitby said: “This exciting project will further enhance Birmingham’s deserved reputation as Britain’s sporting city, bringing jobs to the city and enhancing our facilities.
“We play host to gold medal hopefuls from the USA and Jamaica ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games and, to build on that success, we need the facilities required for the world’s best athletes to compete here on a regular basis.
“That’s exactly what this project will achieve and we’re once again showing Birmingham has the commitment needed to be a significant player in world sport.”
Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport and Culture Cllr Martin Mullaney added: “Public spending is understandably under the spotlight at the moment but income from the new office space and fitness facilities means this project will be self-financing.
“This will significantly raise the profile of the Alexander Stadium, making it the home of UK athletics for both administration and the team for the next ten years and beyond.”
Work will begin next month (Oct 2010) with the new facility scheduled to be completed and operational by June 2011.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
Full details of the project are available via the following link: http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/democracy/Pages/AgendaDetail.aspx?AgendaID%3d56713
Several UK cities now have facilities superior to Birmingham for hosting athletics events at a time when athletics internationally is on the increase with the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) launching a new Diamond League being held in 12 cities around the world. The top 80 athletes in the world have been contracted to the league which will be broadcast live in 148 countries, with an estimated media value of £2m and will have an economic value to the city of £2.2m p.a. based on the experience of the 2010 season. Cities such as New York, Rome and Monaco are already included and UK Athletics (UKA) now wish to award the British Diamond League from 2011 – 2013 with an extension to 2016 to Birmingham, due to our reputation of hosting the world class athletics events.
The Alexander Stadium in its current state does not meet the capacity specification to host the Diamond League, as it only has 7,800 seats. The minimum requirement is 15,000 and the existing facilities will need to be improved over time as part of a developing master plan for the stadium.
UKA are also looking to base themselves at a sports facility with office accommodation and have offered Birmingham the opportunity to host their staff in the city to maintain a close working relationship. Furthermore expressions of interest have been received from other National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of Sport to relocate to the city to create a sports hub based around excellent support facilities such as the high performance centre.
Plans for the stadium were included in Birmingham’s presentation for the Diamond League, to show how Birmingham could meet the specification by the summer 2011. This was through a phased approach by initially raising the seating capacity on the back straight to 5,000, by building a new back straight stand, which could also accommodate office space for up to 250 people and provide a new modern state of the art fitness facility for local people. This new stand can be delivered by 2011 in time for Diamond League and house UKA, to make Birmingham the home of athletics both for administration and the UK team supported by the high performance centre. This would bring the capacity to 12,800, which could be supplemented by temporary seats subject to demand. Following the 2012 USA training camp, consideration could be made to refurbishing the existing facilities on the home straight and increasing the capacity from 7,800 to 10,000 to establish a permanent capacity of 15,000. Ultimately subject to demand the Stadium corners could be filled in with more seats to create a capacity of 25,000, which would be sufficient for both the Commonwealth games and the European Championships.
The proposals have also been developed with Birchfield Harriers, the resident club at the stadium, to produce a long term athletics development plan driven by international events and greater footfall to the site through development. Work has already been approved to resurface the track and improve the layout as part of the Olympic Improvement Works agreed at Cabinet Committee Property in July 2010.
To date commitments for accommodation have been received from UKA, English Athletics, English Institute of Sport and Corporate Sporting Events, to join the Council’s Leisure management in relocating to the stadium, which equates to 176 people. These commitments are ready to be moved to the next stage of securing a Heads of Terms for lease agreements, which will be developed in parallel with the construction of the facility. UKA have written to confirm they will move swiftly to a Heads of Terms at the earliest opportunity. Talks are also continuing with other governing bodies to relocate a further 60 people to the stadium after 2012. These proposals have also attracted the local PCT to consider building a new Health Centre on the site, so it can provide services not only to residents but also to the elite athletes through the English Institute of Sport. The PCT are working to have the scheme committed by the end of the financial year 2010/11.
The proposed new fitness facility would replace the existing small facility on site. It would generate significant income to help fund the cost of the development, together with the rental income streams from the office accommodation. The commitments to date, together income estimates from the new fitness facility, are sufficient to cover the prudential borrowing costs of the scheme. There is also potential to raise more income from further tenants and ground rent from the PCT. Consideration is being given to the most appropriate management model to ensure the facilities are operated on a commercial basis in order to secure tenants and achieve income targets now and in the future.
For more information contact Geoff Coleman on 0121 303 3501
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