NEW OPENING
SCOTSTOUN
More than 100 years after hosting its first athletics event,
Pete Hayman finds out why the redeveloped Glasgow-based stadium is setting its sights firmly on the future
S
ituated on land originally do- nated to the local people of Glasgow by the Knights Templar, the Scotstoun Stadium sits in
an area historically renowned as a hive of activity – from heavy horse shows to air displays, the first athletics event was hosted there in 1904 and it’s been on the city’s sporting map ever since. Fast forward 106 years and the venue
has reopened as a major multi-purpose sports facility after an £18m overhaul which forms part of the Scotstoun Sports Campus in the city’s west end. With a lei- sure centre and the National Badminton Academy (NBA) located at the site, the new-look stadium is seen as the latest piece in the city’s sporting jigsaw. The scheme was led by Culture and
Sport Glasgow (CSG), together with the Scottish Rugby Union and Glasgow City Council, with the successful bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games provid- ing a catalyst for its redevelopment.
CSG head of sports and events Keith Russell says that the recent upgrade of the main leisure centre and the addition of the National Badminton Academy in 2003 meant the stadium was next in line for improvements. “The stadium was always seen as our next project in preparation for the city hosting the Commonwealth Games,” he says. Sportscotland contributed £4m to the
project after identifying a need for a municipal stadium in Glasgow as part of its National and Regional Facilities Strat- egy. The remaining £14m was funded by Glasgow City Council. As a result, the city now boasts a 5,000-seat stadium that caters for both elite performers and members of the local community.
Facilities and demands
Watching a lone athlete pounding down the indoor 130m running straight, I’m witness to one of the opportunities Scotstoun provides across its multi-sport
platform. Athletics will form a key part of the venue’s future, although Glas- gow Warriors – the Magners League rugby union team – also plan to take up residence and use it as the team’s main training base, from June this year. Equipment is still arriving and some of
the rooms will remain empty until the Warriors move in, but other parts of the venue are already in use. The first-floor concourses, which provide access for spectators on event days, are currently playing host to martial arts and dance clubs on a daily basis. “You plan for multi-use opportuni-
ties during the design stage of facility development,” says Russell, “but actually witnessing regular usage coming togeth- er is really positive. Out of event time, there’s no function for these areas, so we really need to get them working as hard as possible.” The concourse areas – a consequence of the cantilever roof design of the main
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Issue 2 2010 © cybertrek 2010
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