Sport funding injection could bring extra cash boost to Sheffield

The announcement in Sheffield comes just weeks after demolition work began at the city’s Don Valley Stadium, where athletics hero Jessica Ennis-Hill was discovered and trained for her Olympics triumph.

A decision was taken to close the stadium as part of Sheffield City Council’s attempts to save around £50m.

It was costing the council around £700,000 a year to run and needed major refurbishment, councillors argued.

Now members of the council’s cabinet are being asked to approve a £3.5m investment package - a move that will see some centres closed and replaced but which it says will allow it to attract outside investment which could see an overall cash injection of up to £24m.

The council is facing its biggest ever-challenge as it grapples with dramatically reducing budgets, including those for sports facilities.

But the authority says there are new opportunities to attract external cash, which in turn would allow it to replace leisure centres it says are high cost, not well used or nearing the end of their life and invest in better facilities, that are cheaper to run.

Coun Isobel Bowler, the council’s cabinet member for culture, sport and leisure, said yesterday: “The council investment is key to attracting external funds to secure these new facilities.

“For every pound the council invests, nearly seven pounds of external funds are secured.

“Not only that but the new centres at Graves and at High Green will require much less public subsidy than the facilities they replace.”

The council investment includes £2.5m for a new swimming and health centre for the north of the city in High Green and it is set to invest £1m in a renewed and extended Graves Tennis and Leisure Centre on its existing site for the south of the city, which will see new swimming pools, indoor tennis courts, gymnastics and fitness services provided.

The new centre in the north will replace swimming pools at Stocksbridge and Chapeltown.

The existing Chapeltown pool will continue to operate until the new facility opens in 2015.

The sports blueprint, to be discussed by councillors next Wednesday, has been drawn up with two national partners, Sport England and the National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine.

It is also supported within the city by Sheffield City Trust and Ecclesfield Parish Council. All of these partners are potential backers of the plan, alongside further potential funding at Graves from national sport governing bodies.

In addition to the facilities at High Green and Graves, Woodbourn athletics track has controversially received a £300,000 investment and re-opened last October to provide track and field facilities.

A total of £700,000 of Olympic legacy funding will see the development of health consultation rooms at Concord Sports Centre – with patients offered integrated health and activity advice and programmes. Further Olympic legacy funding will provide equipment and other support costs in the venues.

Don Valley’s fate was finally sealed last year when the council turned down a last-minute appeal from a campaign group that collected nearly 6,000 signatures on a petition to save it.

Demolition work began at the end of November.

The stadium was built for the 1991 World Student Games and, for a time, it was regarded as the best athletics venue in the UK.

But it has been overtaken by facilities in Birmingham and the Olympic Stadium in London, leading to claims it was never again going to attract a major athletics event.