14 March 2013
Exciting proposals for the most comprehensive Olympic legacy project outside of the capital were unveiled today for the Don Valley stadium footprint in Sheffield.
The plans – which could create up to 940 jobs – have already received a warm welcome and support from Lord Coe, chairman of the British Olympic Association and the Government’s Olympic Ambassador.
The proposals are backed by critical city partners including both Sheffield universities, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), the trust behind the University Technical College (UTC) and Sport England.
At the heart of the planned development, details of which were provided by former Sports Minister Richard Caborn, are:
• Potential new homes for the Sheffield Eagles (Rugby League) and Titans (Rugby Union) teams – as well as new venues for basketball, gymnastics and snooker
• A High Performance Centre linking the critical mass of professional and elite sport on the site to the development of Sheffield Hallam University’s Centre for Sports Engineering Research and the developing Medical Advanced Manufacturing Centre at the AMRC
• A refurbished Woodbourn Road athletics site featuring a 60-80 metre indoor facility to provide all-weather training facilities
• The potential development of a second University Technical College for Sheffield
• The siting of the new National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine
• The demolition of the Don Valley Stadium to be filled with land fills from Flame Hill creating a continuous site of 25 acres between the Stadium and the English Institute of Sport.
Mr Caborn said: “This is the result of intensive work by a small group of significant organisations in the Sheffield City Region to consider a future for the Don Valley stadium footprint. It is a unique scheme which has already received funding to go to the feasibility stage.
“In effect it becomes an Advanced Sports and WellBeing Park giving a comprehensive delivery of the Olympic legacy that we promised in Singapore in 2005. It has the potential to build even further the sports, leisure and related wellness sector embracing and advancing a range of partners in the Sheffield City region that will have real and measurable impact on sporting performance at many levels.
“This is an economic wealth generation project which would take the Don Valley Stadium site from being under utilised to becoming an economic driver,” added Mr Caborn.
“It also builds on the large critical mass of activity around medical technology. More than 200 companies in the Sheffield City Region feed into this global market worth a projected £300bn.”
Lord Coe, Chair of LOCOG,: “I have seen the proposal and it is actually quite a thoughtful one and relies on the proper delivery of track and field in Sheffield which will form a significant part of the delivery of the Olympic and Paralympic legacy. These conversations are never easy and are based on local priorities but clubs, universities, other facilities and organisations are coming together to find a solution that works for Sheffield, works for athletics and works for sport in general.”
Sheffield City Council leader Julie Dore said: "I would personally like to thank Richard Caborn for agreeing to take the lead on whether there are other viable and sustainable uses for the Don Valley Stadium site. Who better placed than a former Sport and Trade and Industry Minister who was instrumental in bringing the Olympics to Britain and a true Sheffielder to take this on. We know that the removal of the council's subsidy of £700,000 a year is a difficult issue, however, we have a plan in place to reinvest and reuse Woodbourn Road for our city's athletes. We are also encouraged by the fact that both Sport England and the athletics governing body are working closely with us on our Woodbourn plan.
"We will, like other partners Richard has called upon, work with him to encourage a set of future ambitious and exciting proposals for the site into the next stage and have agreed to carry out a full feasibility study."
Andrew Snelling, deputy chief executive from Sheffield International Venues (SIV) who operate the Don Valley Stadium and EIS Sheffield, said: “We are delighted to support this project and continue to work closely and support Richard Caborn to deliver this vision.”
James Newman, Chairman of the Sheffield City Region LEP said: ''The LEP originally identified that sport, leisure and tourism are areas for growth in the City Region's economy and this proposal will strengthen and leverage the significant reputation and considerable assets that the City Region already has in professional and community sport allied to learning.''
Jane Ware, Communications Director for the Baker Dearing Educational Trust, said: “The Trust is fully supportive of a second UTC for the Sheffield City Region, a Life Sciences UTC located on the proposed Advanced Park for Sport and Wellbeing. Progression options are a key part of a UTC and involvement of the universities, the teaching hospital and local medical technologies employers would be a potent combination. Linking with the National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine, the UTC should be an important part of the Olympic legacy."
Sir Andrew Cash, Chief Executive of Sheffield Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: “I welcome the vision which was set out today which is another huge step forward in our efforts to bring about a new era in the health and well-being of our city. As one of the largest providers of healthcare in the NHS, we see the devastating effects poor health and a lack of exercise causes. Sheffield is already home to the National Centre for Sports and Exercise Medicine and we now have the opportunity to work with other partners also at the forefront of research, technology, behaviour change and health innovation to make a real difference within the City and beyond. If we can achieve this, it truly will be an Olympic legacy to be proud of.”
Heather MacDonald, Chief Executive, The Sheffield College, said: "We welcome the potential redevelopment of the Don Valley Stadium and are keen to play our part in supporting an Olympic legacy. We are exploring the idea of creating a university technical college specialising in sport and wellbeing, given our success in establishing Yorkshire's first UTC Sheffield opening this year.”
The National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine (NCSEM), based in Sheffield- expressed its very strong support for the vision and outline proposals for the future of the Don Valley stadium (DVS) site.
David Whitney, Project Lead for the NCSEM Sheffield development, said: “These exciting proposals build upon the existing strengths of Sheffield and offer the opportunity to create a unique relationship between sport, exercise and health that will keep the city at the forefront of innovation in the country; even more importantly they will bring very significant benefits to our local population.
“The NCSEM here in Sheffield will be a key partner in developing and implementing the vision for the DVS site over the next few years. This will form part of a wider programme of service, research and educational priorities across the city that will ensure Sheffield delivers a real and sustainable legacy for health from the 2012 London Olympic Games.”
Professor Philip Jones, Vice Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University, said “Sheffield Hallam University already has one of the largest faculties of Health and Wellbeing in the country, and at the heart of this is its growing provision in sport.
“A significant part of our sports teaching takes place within the facilities of the English Institute of Sport, and we can see some potential for relocating research from our Centre for Sports Engineering Research to create a High Performance Research Centre in sport.
“The Centre could provide the infrastructure for measurement and video analysis across all the sports facilities in the Don Valley providing a ready-made field laboratory for a range of sports, product testing and health initiatives.”
Professor Keith Ridgeway, Executive Dean of the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), said: “Sheffield’s Olympic Legacy initiative provides a wonderful opportunity for the region to link its sporting, educational and manufacturing excellence, promoting healthy lifestyles, while creating a highly skilled workforce and interesting, well-paid jobs."
ENDS
For more information contact Martin Ross or Abby Worsnip at HR Media on 0114 252 7763.
