SPORT Dublin’s RDS Arena in expansion
Leinster Rugby and The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) will undertake a £16m redevelopment of the RDS Arena in Dublin, increasing the venue’s capacity from 18,500 to 25,000. After the work, the sta-
dium – which hosts Leinster’s Pro12 and Heineken Cup home games – is expected to be included in Ireland’s bid to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Te venue is also home to the RDS’ annual Dublin Horse Show. As well as expanding
Sportscotland launches new £20m sports facility fund
Sportscotland has unveiled a new £20m National and Regional Facilities Fund to create large, multi-purpose sports facilities in areas which do not currently have them. Te move is part of Sportscotland’s strat-
egy to enhance the existing network of sports facilities across Scotland. Sportscotland has already identified
Te current capacity of the stadium will swell by almost a third
capacity, the work is set to “greatly enhance” stadium facilities, although no detailed plans have been announced. RDS and Leinster have launched an international architectural design competition for the project – the first time that a stadium redevelopment in Ireland has ever been put up for such a competition. Michael Duffy, RDS CEO, said: “We are col-
laborating with Leinster on a new development from which both parties will benefit.
“Te RDS is already on a world stage as
an equestrian and now rugby venue, and our ambition is for a world leading stadium with facilities on a par with the best anywhere. It is for this reason that we have decided to launch this open competition and to seek design ideas from the best in the world.” With a six month time frame to select the concept architect, work is not expected to start until April 2016. Details:
http://lei.sr?a=Y3H7a
Net-a-Porter launches sportswear arm
Online clothing giant Net-a-Porter has launched a new sportswear arm designed for women, marking the latest sign of a growing convergence between the fashion and fitness industries. Te Net-a-Sporter website will offer
37 activewear brands, covering eleven past-times, from tennis to surfing. Labels available include top names such as Adidas by Stella McCartney and Nike, as well as more niche offerings from the likes of MONREAL London and L’Etoile Sport, plus exclusive collaborations with a range of global fashion houses. While sportswear brands like Sports Direct
Te 2013 IOC board only had three women
Women in sport still largely second class citizens: report
A new global report into gender equality in sports governance has found most gov- erning bodies and sports organisations do not meet the target of having 20 per cent of board seats held by women. The Gender Balance in Global Sport
Fashion oſten meets fitness gear in women’s tennis
and JD Sports have this year made-profile entrances into the health club market, the wider fashion industry has also been warming to the idea of physical activity, with a number of recent collections drawing inspiration from the much-vaunted “sports luxe” trend. With the money at stake, it’s easy to see why.
Te total value of the sport market – sport- related goods and services – in the UK in 2013 was £25.8bn, expected to reach £27bn this year, according to Sheffield Hallam University’s Sports Industry Research Centre (SIRC). Among UK consumer expenditure on sport in 2012, clothing sales (excluding footwear)
© CYBERTREK 2014
made up the biggest segment at £3.7bn, fol- lowed by spending on health and fitness clubs at £2.8bn, so it’s little surprise to see conver- gence between the two. Net-a-Sporter buyers have said they aim to bridge the gap between fashion and function for women’s sportswear and, if done correctly, this could have wider implications for participation figures. Even at the top level of sport – in a range of
high-profile tournaments – women have found sportswear issues pose barriers to participation – problems surrounding sports bras have oſten been referenced in the past– a factor frequently flagged as one of the reasons women are less active than men. Details:
http://lei.sr?a=u5r9M
Twitter: @leisureopps
Report, authored by Women on Boards, looked at executive boards in more than 600 sports organisations across the world. These included 128 of the 204 national Olympic committees (NOC) and 34 inter- national sports federations. It shows that inequality within executive boards is par- ticularly bad within international sports federations, with an average of 15 per cent of board members being women. For an example, the world governing
body for football, FIFA, has an executive committee of 24 people – but only one female member (Burundi’s Lydia Nsekera). The figure for the NOCs is only
slightly better (16.5 per cent), despite the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) target of a minimum of 20 per cent of all board members of NOCs being female. Details:
http://lei.sr?a=T5b5T
Read Leisure Opportunities online:
www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/digital 3
a number of areas in Scotland – such as Highland, Tayside & Fife, Ayrshire, Edinburgh, Stirling and the Scottish Borders – which can benefit from improved facilities. Te agency will now work with its partners in local authorities and governing bodies of sport to help deliver new projects. Details:
http://lei.sr?a=m3f8B
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