British Athletes to train at World's First indoor BMX center.

Aug 28, 2009
by Si Paton  
British Cycling and Manchester City Council, in partnership with New East Manchester, are putting final touches to an ambitious plan to build a £24 million National Indoor BMX Centre in Manchester's Sportcity in a bid to secure a world class BMX training facility for the GB Cycling Team and boost Manchester s position as the home of British Cycling.

If new plans for the National Cycling Center go through and funding is approved, the 110,000 square foot building will be the world's first purpose built indoor BMX track. It will sit alongside the Manchester Velodrome with a brand new purpose built office for British Cycling located in the link building between the two venues.Images: Kev Malone.

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The National Indoor BMX Centre will be used by athletes preparing for London 2012 who will benefit from the integration with the rest of the GB Cycling Team and greater consistency of training thanks to the venue's weatherproof nature. Capable of seating 2,000 spectators, it will help bring major national and international events to the city. The venue will also be open to schools, clubs and the local community.

Ian Drake, CEO at British Cycling, comments: The National Indoor BMX Center will be a fantastic venue for the GB Cycling Team and will aid our preparations for London 2012. As a community facility, it will also offer local youngsters a rare opportunity to train alongside British BMX stars, inspiring future generations of riders and growing the discipline at the grass roots.

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Equally exciting is the fact that we will finally have a purpose built office in the middle of the two facilities with plenty of space to accommodate our growing team. When we moved to the Velodrome in 1994 our team numbered 15, today we have over a 200 strong team which is growing fast, so a new home for British Cycling is long overdue.

Councilor Mike Amesbury, Manchester City Councils Executive Member for Culture and Leisure, said: Manchester Velodrome has already proved itself to be a gold medal factory and we expect that this world-class center for BMX next door will bring more medals to the city.

Combined with our world-class outdoor BMX track in Platt Fields Park and the planned outdoor cycling facilities close to Sportcity in Philips Park and the Medlock Valley , it all adds up to a great package for BMX riders, from the grassroots to potential Manchester cycling stars of the future.

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Eddie Smith, Chief Executive of New East Manchester said: "Bringing this £24 million national indoor BMX center to Sportcity will not only enhance the existing facilities and cement east Manchester's reputation as a world-class center for cycling, but it will create 64 full time jobs and safeguard a further 100.

New, improved public spaces will also be developed around the National Cycling Center, including outdoor freestyle cycling areas, to form one of the UK's first veloparks.

Subject to funding and planning approval, work on the scheme will start in January 2010 with completion expected by March 2011.

Cheers.

Si..
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17 Comments
  • 12 1
 that sounds wicked but honestly i can think of many more uses for 24 million pounds, what a waste of tax money. the Olympics are a bit of a joke as far as money is concerned. dont get me wrong i love bmx its well wicked but our tax money is being flushed down the drain all the time. this world has gone mad......... bike on people. think how many wicked bike centres they could make from that or how many cities could benefit from more bike lanes..... come on England
  • 7 0
 ***trail centres here please*** oh and cable car gondelas, thank you much Smile
  • 2 0
 instead of spending shit loads on an indoor track, just make it outdoor, its alot more simpler, and id rather my tax money not be spent on an indoor bmx track, plenty of poverty in the uk, anyways the olimpics suck ass.
  • 6 1
 Also note Birmingham, my home city will also be holding the BMX World Championships in 2012, get on!
  • 3 0
 There ain't many places to ride your bike in if you live in Birmingham.
  • 4 0
 That's not indoor?
  • 1 1
 haha my local woods are hosting the 2012 olympic cyclocross Frown
  • 2 0
 for that money they fill the complete UK with DJ's... but well, nice work, better put some DJs indoor too.
  • 1 0
 huge waste of money liek common race bmxing -.-
  • 1 0
 I have been to Cannock the other day and it has improved a lot after the revamp.
  • 1 0
 How much does one earn for designing a mountain bike park? Im not just talking about this one.
I designed one mountain bike park for a bicycle manufacturer in India called (T.I cycles) aka Hercules.. and they paid me nothing...bastards!
So i was wondering if anyone can tell me.
  • 1 0
 well .. how about before you even start designing plans... you ask what credit you will recive from designing the park
  • 1 0
 yeah, a contract or even a question concerning payment is usually a good idea. haha
  • 3 0
 Thats ace, i already do gate practice at Platt fields, having another world class bmx track in manchester will be amazing.
  • 1 0
 thats sick! For that much money they might as well build up and have the first indoor DH track for the athertons and peaty! Then peaty wolnt have to ride in the rain so much! haha
  • 1 0
 there's an indoor bmx/4x track in sheffield, bet that cost a fraction of the price
  • 1 0
 damn that looks soo cool...jealous much







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