Work starts on Scotland's first indoor velodrome

Work to build a velodrome for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow - Scotland's first indoor cycling facility - has started.

The Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, plus an indoor sports arena, will be constructed on a ten and a half acre site close to Celtic Park in the city’s east end, which will also be close to the Commonwealth Games Athletes’ Village.

The indoor arena will have 5,000 spectator seats for sporting competitions, while the velodrome will have a permanent capacity for 2,000 seated and 500 standing spectators viewing the 250-metre cycle track, which will be increased to 4000 seats at Games time for the track cycling events.

John Scott, the Glasgow 2014 Chief Executive, said: "This one of the centrepieces of the bid - to see this wonderful new edition to the facilities here in Glasgow, so the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome and the national indoor sports arena is a wonderful edition and of course they are going to be world class facilities.

"This is a truly remarkable building and I think people will be really impressed when they begin to see it rising out of the ground,  just how big and how wonderful it really is."

The arena and the velodrome is being built by Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd. After the Games, the facility will become a national training centre for athletics, basketball, netball, track cycling and volleyball.

The new headquarters of sportscotland, the national sports agency, will also be located on the same site, adjacent to the NISA and velodrome. Also, the facility will also be the administrative base for several other national sports federations and Culture and Sport Glasgow’s sports development unit.

Councillor Archie Graham from Glasgow City Council added: "Glasgow is a sports mad city - the council is a sports mad council. I'm a sports mad person myself and it will be fabulous to see the Games.

"The Games only last for 12 days. We have to make sure that there's a lasting legacy for all of the people of Glasgow, not just elite athletes, but people who can participate in sports at club level and even more moderate levels than that following the Games.”
 

Building work is due to be completed by late Spring 2012.