Council unveils £10m ‘sports village’

MANCHESTER City Council is planning to commit £10.6m to new sports facilities in East Manchester which will include a 6,500-capacity National Speedway Stadium.

If the funding is approved at an executive meeting today, the council will also refurbish Belle Vue Leisure Centre, and develop a National Basketball Centre and playing fields, including a rugby pitch.

The Belle Vue Sports Village will be developed on council-owned land next to the Belle Vue dog track on Kirkmanshulme Lane, Longsight. The work will involve the demolition of existing leisure facilities.

The council said a programme of events, including speedway, rugby league and basketball, could attract between 50,000 and 80,000 visitors a year.

The speedway stadium will cost £4.5m to build which is being funded by council borrowings.

It will be the home of the Belle Vue Aces and managed by Belle Vue Arenas Ltd, which has not yet been incorporated. Rent will be paid to the council.

The other amenities are being covered by a £590,000 grant from English Basketball and borrowings that will be paid back from income the council earns from renting the Etihad Stadium to Manchester City.

A report to the council’s executive said: “These new facilities, as well as securing significant community usage, also seek to ensure that a number of national and international sporting events can be hosted within them so as to add to the existing major events programme in Manchester.”