Leisure Attractions In Greater Manchester

[flange]

Website now online for the new Airkix Manchester next to Chill Factor e, they expect to be opening early 2010.

http://www.airkix.com/manchester/default.asp

[flange]

Originally Posted by CDX

A new RIBA competition for a new extension to the Whitworth Gallery, not currently on the RIBA comps website, from a recently issued tender:

Design competition for art gallery revamp

16th June 2009

By James Graham - Business Correspondent

THE Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is hosting a design competition for the £8m extension to Manchester's Whitworth Art Gallery.

RIBA's competitions office in Leeds has called for expressions of interest in the job from architects across the region.

The job involves designing a new gallery extension and altering internal and external spaces within the Grade II listed gallery in south Manchester.

The plan is to extend the south west-facing side of the building next to Whitworth Park.

The tender document said the aim was to, "create a more user-friendly space and improve the efficiency of the existing building."

Up to five architects will be invited to tender for the job. The deadline for expressions of interest is July 15.

http://www.thebusinessdesk.com

[flange]

Playgolf site saved

Ben Rooth

June 17, 2009

A LANDMARK golf centre in Greater Manchester has been bought by a London-based businessman for an undisclosed sum.

Old Trafford-based Playgolf Manchester, which is next to the Trafford Centre, has been bought by Dilip Mehta in a pre-pack deal following the administration of its parent company Playgolf Holdings earlier this year. The purchase is understood to safeguard 20 jobs at the site.

Playgolf Manchester is recognised to be one of Britain's largest golf teaching centres, coaching thousands of pupils every month.

Its driving range has 64 bays and there are four video teaching studios.

General manager Craig Whitefield said: "It's business as normal."

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co....olf_site_saved

[flange]

Merlin to unveil Legoland plans for Trafford Centre

Glenn Earlam, a senior executive of Merlin Entertainments Group, will next week unveil plans for the UK’s first Legoland Discovery Centre at the Trafford Centre.

The centre, plans for which were first reported in Crain’s Manchester Business last October, will open in time for Easter 2010.

Glenn Earlam, managing director of Dorset-based Merlin Global Midway Attractions, will be joined at the event on July 1 by Gordon McKinnon, director of operations at the Trafford Centre and Andrew Stokes, chief executive of Marketing Manchester.

Merlin opened its first Legoland Discovery Centre in Berlin in 2007. The concept is aimed at children aged 3-12.

Merlin also operates Sea Life aquariums, Madame Tussauds, The London Eye, Dungeons, Gardaland, Alton Towers Resort, Warwick Castle, Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventures & Zoo, Heide Park, Underwater Adventures, and Earth Explorer.

http://www.crainsmanchesterbusiness....906239993/1145

[flange]

Tarzan comes to town

26.06.09

By Christine Eade

Treetop adventure course company Aerial Extreme is taking rope swings to in-town retail locations

Children forced to trail round stately homes with their parents have the opportunity in three such places to break away from heritage and swing on ropes on adventure courses, clearing obstacles 14 metres above the trees.

Such adventures will soon be possible in shopping centres. Aerial Extreme, which provides such mid-air adventures for around £22 a go, is moving indoors and going urban. This month it will begin work in Sheffield on its fifth course next door to ice rink Ice Sheffield, on Attercliffe Common.

Robert Ropner‘An ideal site is not necessarily a fantastic stately home,’ says Aerial Extreme founder Robert Ropner. ‘The type of footfall is the elderly – because they appreciate gardens – and children who go there with their parents.

‘That means a whole age bracket is missing – the 10-to-25-year-olds. The stately home owners want us to be there so that we can bolster their market. But we don’t want to be there because we have to do all the running.’

It is an ironic admission from Ropner, who opened his first course in the grounds of his own stately home in 2003 to ensure its survival.

Ropner’s grandfather bought Camp Hill, an 18th-century house in Bedale, North Yorkshire, in 1945. Ropner created an events management company, which staged 300 corporate events at Camp Hill a year, but which left bank holidays empty. To maintain staff levels, Ropner looked at the many rope courses in France. As there were only two in the UK, he erected a third at Camp Hill.

Ropner recalls: ‘We pioneered our own course and funded it, because it was something that nobody was going to assist us with.

‘The course was is a genuine treetop experience – two hours of being Tarzan or Indiana Jones, leaping from tree to tree – and it boosted our footfall by a third to 15,000 in the three years that followed.’

Roped in

Success encouraged Ropner to look further afield, but land and property prices were booming when he set up Aerial Extreme.

‘When we set up, everyone was paying far too much for everything. People weren’t interested in us because we didn’t represent a reasonable return on income,’ he says.

However, he took a 25-year lease on an acre at Willen Lake, the watersports centre in Milton Keynes, for a second rope course in 2006. Willen Lake leased the land from the Parks Trust, a tenant of Milton Keynes Council.

A colleague approved of Ropner’s business plan and lent him the money – setting up a course can range from £240,000 to £400,000.

Despite the compact site, there is space left there for a Douglas fir to be transplanted from the Cairngorms for climbers to ascend high above the rest of the course.

St Modwen granted Aerial Extreme a 20-year lease, also in 2006. It takes a percentage of the turnover at Trentham Gardens, the Duke of Sutherland’s former stately home in Staffordshire.

The Earl of Derby agreed to Aerial Extreme coming to Knowsley Safari Park, Merseyside, but wanted to keep control of his estate. He therefore paid the capital cost of setting up the course in 2007 and entered into a management agreement with Aerial Extreme.

The four courses attracted 70,000 visitors last year, and Ropner predicts that this will be well up this year as cash-strapped holidaymakers plan stay-at-home vacations.

Work is about to begin in Sheffield where the city council is the freeholder on a plot of unused land of only 32,300 sq ft.

Ropner has submitted planning applications for sites in London, Manchester, Yorkshire and Scotland. There will be no more stately home openings, because Ropner wants to be where the footfall is and has given agents a brief to find urban sites indoors and out.

He will seek £1.2m of bank funding to develop an income stream for 20 sites in five years. But he does not intend to be a stopgap for shopping centre landlords until the market improves.

‘In the 1990s, landlords put in [laser gun game] Quasar and paintball to try to bolster their income, which then got booted out because they didn’t negotiate appropriate terms.

‘It’s not going to be a short-term fix. It’s got to be viewed as a long-term partnership – you generate an income stream that allows you to build additional sites over a five-year period to grow and pay back the capital you borrowed. You would then have a significant business. In that case, you would either continue building, merge, acquire another business or sell out.’

It is a projected growth as big as Milton Keynes’ Douglas fir, and far from devising a new way of keeping the family estate going.

http://www.propertyweek.com/story.as...rycode=3143680

[spoonsbeatfish]

Historic Manchester venue in line for return to live performance
Published Wednesday 24 June 2009 at 14:45 by Lalayn Baluch

Manchester’s oldest surviving performance venue is to get a theatrical revival after 88 years of use as a cinema, bingo hall and nightclub, if proposals by the city’s Library Theatre company are given the green light.

The organisation is to enter into discussions with Manchester City Council next month about the possibility of moving into the 164-year-old Theatre Royal building, which is currently leased by the M-Two bar and nightclub.

The Library Theatre has been based in the former lecture hall of the city’s Central Library since it was established in 1952, but for some years has been exploring the prospect of moving to another site.

The company’s artistic director Chris Honer told The Stage: “Although [the Central Library] is a wonderful venue, we are constricted by the small number of seats, which is only 312. We know our economics would be transformed if we had another 100 or so. Also, it is a great frustration to us that we have nowhere on site to do our community and education workshops.

“The front of house facilities leave a lot to be desired - there is a tiny bar, there is no real space to do corporate entertainment. To me, it feels rather run-down and dowdy by 21st-century standards.”

Honer explained that a number of options had been explored by the company and the city council, including partnerships with educational institutions such as Manchester Metropolitan University and a site in the city’s northern quarter. He said a move to the Theatre Royal was the preferred option.

“There are still a number of hurdles to jump. The strong possibility has emerged that the Theatre Royal might be a new home. It is very near the Library Theatre at the moment and it is right on what is known as Manchester’s cultural corridor. What a great story it would be, turning the theatre back to its theatre use,” Honer added.

He explained the company hopes to be relocated to a new home by 2013 and would stage productions in the Lowry and non-theatre spaces in the city once it moved out of the library building.

The artistic director said it was too early to confirm whether the company would keep the name of Library Theatre following a move. A decision by Manchester City Council on the Theatre Royal plan is due in the autumn.

Manchester’s Grade II-listed Theatre Royal was built in 1845 for drama and opera productions. In 1921, it was reconstructed for cinema use and later in 1972 it was converted into a bingo hall, before becoming a nightclub in the mid-nineties.

Theatres Trust director Mhora Samuel added: “I think it would be wonderful to see the Theatre Royal become the home of the Library Theatre. The Theatres Trust completely supports Chris and his colleagues in their plans. I went round the building a few years ago and it has huge potential.”

http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newss...ine-for-return

[EverythingButABeach]

Moving the library Theatre to the Theatre Royal building would make a huge amount of sense to me - after all it's what the building is designed for in the first place. It could also be used for Northern outpost of the Opera. The Palace is fully utilised anyway so don't see why anyone would want to boot the current owners out of that one.

[Potato Man]

Think this is an interesting idea. We actually had a thread about the Theatre Royal last year, where nerd and others gave a fascinating insight into the history of this building.

First thing that hits me is the '100 extra seats' feels rather lower than historic capacities or the 650 figure that was thrown about last summer. Also restoration of this building will be very expensive.

With this in mind I think a joint venture between the library and say live nation would be a good idea. Lets face it the library are only giving live performance on 50% (maybe less) of nights. Therefore, we could not sub let say 120-150 days/nights of the theatre space to a company like Live Nation for unsubsidised commercial theatre (the type of glittery musical Broadway stuff that is increasingly popular in this post Maria/Joseph world)? This imo would make the finances on this project quickly feel far more sensible.

I know manchester is by a long distance the busiest regional centre for commercial touring theatre and that LN are looking to expand (linked with the Ritz pre recession). Therefore I suspect they might be keen on using a smaller (cheaper?) facility such as this for some of the smaller travelling shows. This would allow the Opera House & Palace to be kept free for extended residences of some of the biggest most popular West End transfers. I'd particularly see the commercial sense in this should Live Nation loose the Palace to the Royal Ballet/Opera.

In terms of non performing nights, I guess the building would mainly used for rehearsal and set building at present. For me this trpe of activity could be shifted to a low cost shed out of town (I'm thinking the old sharp factory), with the high value asset in the centre of town sweated as far as possible. This would be good for the wider city too - increasing bar revenues, boosting employment in local restaurants/hotels as well as enhancing that general feeling of vibrancy about town in the evening.

[spoonsbeatfish]

Originally Posted by Potato Man

Think this is an interesting idea. We actually had a thread about the Theatre Royal last year, where nerd and others gave a fascinating insight into the history of this building.

First thing that hits me is the '100 extra seats' feels rather lower than historic capacities or the 650 figure that was thrown about last summer. Also restoration of this building will be very expensive.

With this in mind I think a joint venture between the library and say live nation would be a good idea. Lets face it the library are only giving live performance on 50% (maybe less) of nights. Therefore, we could not sub let say 120-150 days/nights of the theatre space to a company like Live Nation for unsubsidised commercial theatre (the type of glittery musical Broadway stuff that is increasingly popular in this post Maria/Joseph world)? This imo would make the finances on this project quickly feel far more sensible.

I know manchester is by a long distance the busiest regional centre for commercial touring theatre and that LN are looking to expand (linked with the Ritz pre recession). Therefore I suspect they might be keen on using a smaller (cheaper?) facility such as this for some of the smaller travelling shows. This would allow the Opera House & Palace to be kept free for extended residences of some of the biggest most popular West End transfers. I'd particularly see the commercial sense in this should Live Nation loose the Palace to the Royal Ballet/Opera.

In terms of non performing nights, I guess the building would mainly used for rehearsal and set building at present. For me this trpe of activity could be shifted to a low cost shed out of town (I'm thinking the old sharp factory), with the high value asset in the centre of town sweated as far as possible. This would be good for the wider city too - increasing bar revenues, boosting employment in local restaurants/hotels as well as enhancing that general feeling of vibrancy about town in the evening.

I can't remember the exact number of nights but reading the documents regarding the Royal Opera/Ballet move discussed approximately 40 nights a year. This would not therefore stop the Palace from being used as a commercial venue for most of the year.

I think both the library move there and your ideas above are very sensible. A joint live nation/library theatre move would seem much more viable. In the longer term the more theatre venues the city has the more attractive it will become to a larger audience out of Manchester.

Part of the success of the London theatre industry is due to the amount of choice. If the number of theatres in Manchester could be increased to a critical mass (maybe 5 mainstream and a another few artisitic?) I would think it would increase the number of tourists disproportionately (positive), to the city as the theatre offer becomes a tourist attraction itself and there is enough selection to not have to pre-organise a trip. Instead of having just a few theaters for locals there could be a hub of theater entertainment like a small satellite London for people from all over the North.

As for the capacity, the club capacity is 1600. Obviously a theatre would be a lot lower but 400 does seem on the low side. I would presume that the comment meant that having just 100 extra seats would transform the viability of the library theatre company (i.e less public subsidy). Having more then that would further benefit the organisation or not have much effect but the key is to increase capacity by at least 30%?

Another possibility is for the venue to be used as a joint conference venue/theatre company. The basic set up is the same and would require little if any change over effort/time and being on the edge/part of the conference quarter would seem to go well.

Can you post any further info regarding the Live nation expansion desires/tie up with the Ritz?

[Potato Man]

Originally Posted by spoonsbeatfish

Can you post any further info regarding the Live nation expansion desires/tie up with the Ritz?

This was published in Crains last July

http://www.crainsmanchesterbusiness....ster-portfolio

Live Nation aims to add fourth venue to Manchester portfolio
Acquisition would create strong competition for revamped students' union complex


Global entertainment group Live Nation wants to add to its Manchester portfolio.

The owner of the Palace Theatre, Opera House and Manchester Apollo is looking to acquire a 1,000 to 2,000-capacity venue.

Paul Latham, Live Nation's president, UK music and venues, said the fourth property would be smaller than the Apollo, which holds 2,641 seated and 3,500 standing.

In March 2007, Live Nation acquired a majority stake in the Academy Music Group, which has 12 venues in the UK.

“We don't have one in Manchester and there may well be scope for another venue within that remit,” said Latham. He said the company's preference would be to acquire an existing venue rather than embarking on a new build. Academy Music Group venues include the Carling Academy Brixton and the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London and there are Carling Academy venues in Glasgow, Newcastle, Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol, Islington (London) and Bar Academy venues in Birmingham and Islington and Oxford. They operate a mix of live music shows and club nights and seek to showcase breakthrough brands.

Latham may not need to look far from the Palace Theatre for a possible acquisition. The Ritz, on Whitworth Street, is currently in the hands of administrators.

The company which owned it, Candu Entertainment Ltd, went into administration in March. Its business and assets were sold for £11.5m to London-based Company Time Ltd, which is currently in discussions with several potential operators over occupancy terms for the Ritz, which holds 1,300 people and has an 83-year history in Manchester.

Sean Cullen, manager at The Ritz, told Crain's several parties were in discussion with Company Time to operate the venue.
Direct competition
“Discussions are ongoing, but it has generated interest from more than one party,” he said. “It would be good to get some new investment and keep the Ritz as one of Manchester's leading venues. We need to continue putting on good concerts and club nights and we need it to go from strength to strength.

“It needs some updating — inside and out — but it has a lot of history and bands like playing here. We put on around 70 shows a year.”

If Live Nation did acquire The Ritz, the company would be pitched into direct competition with the Manchester Academy, owned and operated by the University of Manchester Students' Union on Oxford Road, where £3.5m has just been spent on a comprehensive revamp, sending its capacity up to nearly 2,500.

Latham, who has just been appointed to the business leadership council set up by the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities, said: “Maybe what I can bring to the party is the experience of having worked with lots of local authorities across the UK on their development plans.

“Invariably leisure is involved in some form, often as the loss leader which makes sense of the rest in terms of footfall. Whether it is theatre, music or conferencing, there is not a genre that we don't touch.”

Live Nation operated the Tameside Hippodrome in Ashton-under-Lyne for 12 years until it closed in March.

Latham said Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council's subsidy was insufficient to enable the company to continue running the venue.

Manchester is Live Nation's most important city outside London in terms of the size of audiences. As well as the three venues it owns, the company promotes shows at the MEN Arena. The company's UK property division is also based in Greater Manchester, at the School House in Trafford Park.

Live Nation is based in Los Angeles and was spun off from US media conglomerate Clear Channel Communications in 2005. It has recently shaken up the music business by signing a $120m, 10-year deal with Madonna, which includes recordings as well as live shows.

[uklad1979]

Live Nation are going to be getting rid of theatre venues not aquiring them as there stratagy now it to be asset light and they have sold off most theatre venues around the world. The best partner and someone that is intrested in a Manchester venue is Sir Andrew but I hear is more intrested in taking on the Opera House.

[spoonsbeatfish]

Originally Posted by uklad1979

Live Nation are going to be getting rid of theatre venues not aquiring them as there stratagy now it to be asset light and they have sold off most theatre venues around the world. The best partner and someone that is intrested in a Manchester venue is Sir Andrew but I hear is more intrested in taking on the Opera House.

Just saw this today:

http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newss...atre-empire-up

Exclusive: Live Nation’s theatre empire up for sale

Published Wednesday 24 June 2009 at 11:05 by Alistair Smith

Live Nation, the UK’s largest theatre operator, has put its entire stock of British theatrical venues up for sale, in a move which could see the biggest overhaul in UK theatre ownership in a decade.
The Apollo and Lyceum are up for sale

The Apollo and Lyceum are up for sale Photo: Lyceum photo: David Crosswaite

The global live entertainment group, which sold its US theatres in a $90 million deal in 2007, is accepting bids for a package of 17 UK venues. This includes two of the West End’s largest and most profitable sites - the Apollo Victoria and Lyceum theatres, which are currently home to long-running musicals Wicked and The Lion King respectively - as well as a 33% stake in another major London musical house, the Dominion.

A total of more than 30,000 theatre seats across venues in London, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh, among others, are on offer.

The potential sale, which has been long anticipated by the UK market, forms part of an ongoing strategy by the company to focus on its live music operation, selling off non-core assets such as its theatre venues to help fund expansion in this area.

However, the UK theatres represent a profitable operation for Live Nation and it is understood there is a strong possibility that no sale will be finalised, with sources describing the process as a “fishing exercise”.

Investment bank Goldman Sachs, which oversaw the US sale, is also handling the UK bidding.

The process is at a very early stage and currently features more than 20 interested parties, from international theatre operators to private equity firms. The number of potential buyers is expected to be whittled down within the next week or so. Theatre operators understood to be in the running include Stage Entertainment, the major European theatre owner that also produces Sister Act and Hairspray, Key Brand Entertainment, which bought Live Nation’s US theatres and is understood to have had a first-look deal on the UK theatres, and Ambassador Theatre Group, the UK’s second largest theatre operator.

Live Nation is currently only accepting bids for the entirety of its UK theatre portfolio, but it has not ruled out selling off the stock piecemeal, if an acceptable price, believed to be in excess of £75 million, cannot be found for the whole package. Its music venues and arenas are not up for sale.

Paul Latham, Live Nation’s chief operating officer for live music, confirmed that bidding had started, but told The Stage: “We might not sell them. It’s not a foregone conclusion that they will be sold. It will only be if somebody makes an offer we can’t refuse that it will be accepted. If we do sell, it will only be if the money is right - it will only be if someone pays a reasonable amount for what is still a going concern.”

[uklad1979]

I think they will sell it as one then it will be split up. Since Loyyd Webber sold off SeeTickets he has cash to invest.

[flange]

Legoland to open at Trafford Centre

Paul R Taylor

July 01, 2009



What the interior of the Legoland Discovery Centre could look like

A LEGO replica of Manchester city centre is to be built as part of a new £7.5m attraction at the Trafford Centre.

The Legoland Discovery Centre, the first of its kind in Britain, is due to open next year and will also have an interactive ride and 4D cinema.

It is expected to attract around 300,000 visitors a year, generate £5m extra income for the shopping complex and create up to 100 jobs.

Aimed at families with children aged 3-12, the centre was officially announced by Merlin Entertainments Ltd today.

Merlin operates 21 British attractions, including Alton Towers and the London Eye, and is the second biggest theme park operator in the world behind Disney.

Glenn Earlam, Merlin managing director, said: "We're all very excited about this.

Location

"The Trafford Centre is the absolute perfect location and there is nowhere else in Britain we'd rather be.

"This is the first new attraction we've opened in the UK for about 10 years and the fourth Legoland Discovery Centre in the world.

"The 4D cinema is my favourite part, it's like 3D but with physical effects such as wind and rain.

"Overall it will provide hours of entertainment, based around children's creativity, and will be an exciting new element to a family day out shopping."

The Discovery Centre will have a 'Miniland' featuring key landmarks from Manchester city centre as well as both football grounds, and other parts of the north west.

They will include Salford Quays, Blackpool Tower and the Lake District.

Interactive

There will be an interactive Lego-themed ride and a model builder's workshop, as well as the cinema and general play area.

Work on the 3,500sq m unit begins later this month, with the centre due to open next Easter.

The models of Manchester and other landmarks are being built off-site.

Gordon McKinnon, director of operations at the Trafford Centre, said: "The new Legoland Discovery Centre will be the ideal addition to the retail and entertainment we already offer here.

"Like Merlin, we believe retail, leisure and catering is a great combination.

"Merlin already runs many of the most popular leisure sites in the UK and we hope this will be the beginning of a long-term partnership that will benefit not just both companies, but most importantly our visitors and shoppers."

There are already Legoland Discovery Centres in Berlin, Duisburg and Chicago.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co....rafford_centre

[flange]

NEM scales down £21m Sportcity BMX centre

13 July 2009, 09:46

http://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/news...mx-centre.html

[flange]

City invites tenders for £21m BMX arena contract

Manchester City Council has begun its search for a contractor to build a £21m BMX racing arena in East Manchester.

The tender notice, published in the European Journal, is for an indoor arena on Stuart Street in Beswick with associated facilities, offices, external public realm works including a link over the canal to a planned Metrolink stop on nearby Alan Turing Way.

The notice says the arena will contain a fully enclosed 70 metre by 100 metre BMX racing track, with seating for about 2,000 spectators at national competitions.

The building is to be physically linked to Manchester Velodrome, occupying the existing east car park. The link between the buildings will provide access to and between both buildings at ground and first floors and will contain reception, administration, restaurant and retail areas.

The first floor will provide facilities for spectators and also office space covering approximately 1,000 sq m.

The southern and northern entrances to the centre will be developed to form enhanced public spaces, including a large plaza along the southern elevation of the BMX Centre furnished with seating and urban design elements suitable to be used by wheel sports.

A new thoroughfare will be created from the plaza down to a new pedestrian bridge crossing over the canal creating connectivity to the new Metrolink stop, canal towpath and the district centre.

The notice says the estimated value of the contract is £21m excluding VAT and the work is expected to take a maximum of 15 months.

Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted by August 6 to Manchester City Council, and addressed to Room BX14 in the Town Hall Extension, Albert Square, M2 5DB.

http://www.crainsmanchesterbusiness....907149991/1058

[flange]

£24m 'Velopark' plan unveiled

Deborah Linton

July 16, 2009

DETAILS of a £24m BMX arena aimed at turning Manchester into the `epicentre' of world cycling have been unveiled.

Town hall bosses are expected to `enthusiastically' approve just under £8.5m for the project next week.

This would give the go-ahead to create a leading `Velopark'- incorporating the Velodrome - at Sportcity in east Manchester.

The complex will be the home of the sport's national federation British Cycling and the team that triumphed at last year's Beijing Olympics.

World class

It is also expected to provide a training base for athletes for the London 2012 Games as well as being a world-class facility for the community.

The National Indoor BMX Centre, to be built next to the Velodrome, has attracted provisional pledges of more than £15m in grants.

These include £8m from the North West Development Agency, £2.4m each from the Homes and Communities Agency and European Regional Development Fund and a potential £3m from Sport England.

If funding is approved by Manchester council, the designs will go before city planners to give the green light for construction work to start.

Deputy council leader Jim Battle said: "This is a fantastic national facility which will not only be for elite athletes, but also for the community.

Ambition

"My personal ambition is that a future Olympic gold medallist will be a young person living in east Manchester today.

"The centre will build upon the relationship Manchester has with the British cycling team and enhance its status in the sport, making it the epicentre of world cycling."

If all goes to plan, it is hoped work will begin on site in January, with completion expected in March 2011.

The £24.3m total cost of the project is broken down into £19.5m for construction of the 2,000-seater, covered arena and £4.8m for other public facilities, including the creation of an outdoor freestyle area.

A report to the town hall executive proposes £80,000 of council contingency cash to British Cycling to help their move to the site, already earmarked to host national and international BMX competitions.

The project is expected to create 64 full-time jobs and safeguard 100. There will be cycle routes around the site and walkways to the new Metrolink station to be built at the nearby Asda store.

A consultation day for the public to view plans and have their say is due at the Velodrome on Tuesday, August 4, from 3pm to 8pm.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co...._plan_unveiled

[flange]

RIBA unveils architects bidding for Whitworth Gallery scheme

By Simon Binns

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has released the longlist of architects that applied to remodel the Whitworth Art Gallery and design a new extension for the Oxford Road building. Work will be carried out for the University of Manchester and the first phase of bidding attracted 139 expressions of interest.

Zaha Hadid, who designed a chamber music recital room for the Manchester International Festival, is on the list, as is Stephenson Bell, which recently had its £23m plans to redevelop Chetham's School of Music approved by Manchester City Council.

The ten practices on the list are:

Amanda Levete Architects

Dixon Jones

Edward Cullinan Architects

Eric Parry Architects

Feilden Clegg Bradley

Haworth Tompkins

MUMA

Stanton Williams

Stephenson Bell with Carmody Groake

Zaha Hadid Architects

Those practices will now undergo an interview to shortlist five firms to enter the design phase of the competition. The designs will be submitted in September 2009, with the winner being picked in November.

http://www.crainsmanchesterbusiness....907289990/1008

[Architecty]

That's quite the set of firms, even the lesser know ones have excellent pedigree.

Just a shame its not a much larger project; say an Opera House on the old BBC site...

[flange]

Land Between The Velodrome And Bank Street
Manchester Velodrome
Stuart Street

Proposed erection of a fully enclosed 70 x 100 metre BMX racing track for a maximum of 2000 spectators with a new entrance concourse linked to the existing Velodrome building, all support ancillary accommodation for the BMX track, 110 sqm of retail floorspace (A1), 401 sqm of restaurant/cafe floorspace (A3), 1326 sqm of office space (B1) and 421 sqm of storage space (B8), all with associated highway works, public realm works, landscaping and car parking

http://www.publicaccess.manchester.g...903/FO/2009/N2

The design of BMX indoor track has been changed and looks like a bike park or outdoor bmx park will be built and a climbing wall aswell.









And the landscaping plans for around the new BMX and Velodrome are online aswell now

Land Adjacent To Ashton Canal Link From Velodrome To Ashton New Road
Ancoats
Manchester

Proposed public realm works to provide new pedestrian link from Ashton New Road to the Velodrome and BMX sites including a new footbridge over Ashton Canal, landscaping, lighting, street furniture and a climbing wall, in association with application 089903/FO/2009/N2 for the new BMX stadium

http://www.publicaccess.manchester.g...961/FO/2009/N2