Glasgow gets 2014

BigSpecs

Looks like the Commonwealth Games are coming north of the border in 2014

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/gla ... 085422.stm

Maybe this will mean a new velodrome??

El Capitano

Good news indeed.

pneumatic

Great, marvellous, good news, whoopee

but

this now definitely means that there'll be no lottery money available for anything else for the next 7 years at least. My village has just been turned down by the Lottery for funding to rescue our already well-used community hall from shutting and, comparing notes with others in the same situation, it is clear that the Lottery's attitude to the likelihood of non sporting causes getting such grants changed sharply after 7/7/2005.

so by the time constructors consultants contractors and corruption have taken their slices, and the athletes got the crumbs, the kids in our village will have grown up wandering the streets in the dark and congregating in bus shelters for want of a community hall. How interested are they likely to be in whether or not Scotland wins any medals?

Don't get me wrong, I think elite sport is wonderful and inspiring. I just wonder whether it is a priority when facilities for mass participation or any communal activity other than binge drinking are so scandalously sh1te in this country.

scwxx77

pneumatic wrote:

Don't get me wrong, I think elite sport is wonderful and inspiring. I just wonder whether it is a priority when facilities for mass participation or any communal activity other than binge drinking are so scandalously sh1te in this country.

I heard Graeme Obree on the radio this morning saying something similar.

Obree voices doubts over benefits of Glasgow 2014

jpembroke

As fond as I am of the evernt, I'm not sure that 'Elite Sport' and 'Commonwealth Games' necessarily go together.

Rob Sallnow

jpembroke wrote:

As fond as I am of the evernt, I'm not sure that 'Elite Sport' and 'Commonwealth Games' necessarily go together.

It does in some disciplines, it doesn't with others....that the same as the European Athletics Championships for example.

pneumatic

scwxx77 wrote:

pneumatic wrote:

Don't get me wrong, I think elite sport is wonderful and inspiring. I just wonder whether it is a priority when facilities for mass participation or any communal activity other than binge drinking are so scandalously sh1te in this country.

I heard Graeme Obree on the radio this morning saying something similar.

Obree voices doubts over benefits of Glasgow 2014

Obree makes a lot of sense with these comments. Interesting that he has kids at school, as I do and sees the limitations on what they can aspire to in sport. Happily for my boy, he plays football in a local club and gets good training twice a week and matches every weekend. However, after I took him and his pals to see le Tour last year, one of them got really excited about cycling, and persuaded his mum to buy him a Giant road bike, and some natty replica team kit.

The next question was "where will he learn road riding?". I took him out a few times in the Summer but I am no expert, so I suggested the local bike shop, who referred him to the local chain gang (Tescos Sunday morning). When he turned up there, although they were pleased to see him so keen, they were reluctant to take someone else's kid out on a road ride for all kinds of understandable reasons, including the fact that he would inevitably have held them up on their only chance of a group ride themselves.

Even when we get "our" velodrome in Glasgow, it isn't going to be much use to a 12 year old living more than and hour from that city. The salary of a couple of professional cyclists, running nightly road riding classes in different parts of the country would be a drop in the ocean by comparison.

Crapaud

BigSpecs wrote:

Looks like the Commonwealth Games are coming north of the border in 2014

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/gla ... 085422.stm

Maybe this will mean a new velodrome??

Yes! I believe that it's being built on some waste ground opposite Celtic Park. What'll happen to it after the games is anyone's guess. I hope I'm wrong but, I don't think that there's enough support for one to keep going though.



Having said that, it looks like the national indoor sports arena and velodrome will be multi-purpose to some degree.

andyp

Another indoor velodrome in the UK can only be seen as good news I'd say. The fact that something like 3 million people will be no more than 1 hour away from it should see it get used a lot and you'd hope there are daily visits from schools to introduce kids to cycling in a safe, indoor environment.

Not wanting to upset anyone in particular but sending positive health messages out to people in the west of Scotland can only be a good thing.

BeaconRuth

That rider hasn't got a right leg!

Ruth

BeaconRuth

Nor a left arm.

Crapaud

BeaconRuth wrote:

That rider hasn't got a right leg!

Ruth

BeaconRuth wrote:

Nor a left arm.

It was probably used to illustrate Glasgows hosting of the paralympics a few years ago.

Or it's someone's attempt at humour i.e. hosting the games are going to cost an arm and a leg!

nwallace

pneumatic wrote:

scwxx77 wrote:

The next question was "where will he learn road riding?". I took him out a few times in the Summer but I am no expert, so I suggested the local bike shop, who referred him to the local chain gang (Tescos Sunday morning). When he turned up there, although they were pleased to see him so keen, they were reluctant to take someone else's kid out on a road ride for all kinds of understandable reasons, including the fact that he would inevitably have held them up on their only chance of a group ride themselves.

Even when we get "our" velodrome in Glasgow, it isn't going to be much use to a 12 year old living more than and hour from that city. The salary of a couple of professional cyclists, running nightly road riding classes in different parts of the country would be a drop in the ocean by comparison.

Do Perth United do bunch riding for beginners? and is Caird Park Stadium in Dundee still in use?

Though probability says you are further into Fife than makes them close by!

The biggest challenge for me with any of the local cycling groups is the fact I am still asleep when they are leaving Cupar or Campy on Saturdays

OffTheBackAdam

Another scheme for Scottish "Ministers" to dig their hands deep into the English pocket for. Shall we have a poll for how large a cost overun on this?
We'll have a nice, big, purpose-built and redundant sports complex near London all ready to come out of mothballs then, assuming it's actually built by then, that is.

pneumatic

OffTheBackAdam wrote:

Another scheme for Scottish "Ministers" to dig their hands deep into the English pocket for. Shall we have a poll for how large a cost overun on this?
We'll have a nice, big, purpose-built and redundant sports complex near London all ready to come out of mothballs then, assuming it's actually built by then, that is.

Now let's look at the evidence:

Redevelopment of Hampden Park (the world's oldest international football stadium, located in Glasgow): 26million (the English government at the time (no Tory ministers in Scotland at all in early 90's) refused to allow any more than that to be spent on it, and it shows.)

Redevelopment of Wembley (Scotland's other home stadium, but located within M25):
750million (or whatever it ended up costing)

Glasgow 2014 - 300m
London 2012 - 9billion and rising

Even if there is an overspend in Glasgow, there's no comparison!

Anyway, never mind all that, just give us a cheer on Saturday evening - despite the capacity of Hampden being a third of what it was, me and the boy have got tickets for the Italy game and it's going to be an incredible night, whatever happens.

OffTheBackAdam

pneumatic wrote:

[ me and the boy have got tickets for the Italy game and it's going to be an incredible night, whatever happens.

Rugby or "Oikball"?
If it's the proper game, I'll probably even watch it f it's on the gogglebox!

pneumatic

OffTheBackAdam wrote:

pneumatic wrote:

[ me and the boy have got tickets for the Italy game and it's going to be an incredible night, whatever happens.

Rugby or "Oikball"?
If it's the proper game, I'll probably even watch it f it's on the gogglebox!

The beautiful game, of course! and it's not on terrestrial TV (but don't get me started on the funding for and quality of Scottish broadcasting by the EBC!)

pneumatic

So, by the way, how was it that we had England v Croatia streamed live into our homes tonight on terrestrial BBC Onenation?