Showpiece stadium for Glasgow 2014 unveiled

Twin function venue for Commonwealth Games brings sport to the masses

Located in the east end of Glasgow, the centrepiece of the 2014 Commonwealth Games will be the new National Indoor Sports Arena and Velodrome. In a unique project, the venue provides two distinctly separate arenas under one roof. Designed by sports venue specialists, Sport Concepts, with 3DReid as delivery architects at a cost of £24 million, the project will regenerate the previously neglected east end of the city and provide modern sports facilities for the local community and elite athletes.

Michael Lischer of Sport Concepts said: “This project is a fantastic opportunity to create an inclusive landmark sports facility for athletes and the community alike, the project will kick start the regeneration of an urban brown field site in a deprived suburb of Glasgow.”

The stadium is comprised of a 200m athletics track with room for 6,000 spectators and 250m velodrome track seating 2,000 spectators, expandable to 5,000 during the games. The distinctive glass structure gives an open plan feel allowing light to reverberate throughout the arena. The distinguished venue will provide a focal point for the surrounding sports facilities and a focus for spectator’s attention. The arena and velodrome are linked by a 34m x 80m wholly glass interconnecting thoroughfare, which includes circulation spaces, as wells as offices for the National Sport Federation.

Contemporary features include a state of the art hydraulic track that lies flat on the arena floor when not in use. Telescopic seating can be positioned in a variety of ways to allow good spectator sightlines for each sport. These will be a mix of clustered and open plan. Also provided are conferencing facilities, function spaces and control rooms for the arenas.

Due to be completed in 2011, a new era of sport in Scotland is fast approaching.