New Birmingham Stadium

[philipo]

Noticed that Conor Dary of TF Forum counted the extra temporary seats at that little stadium in Eugene, and there will be just over 15,000 permanent and temporary seatscombined, for the 2022 WC, assuming he is correct
. Seb Coe and his NIke pals must have undergone a bit of a mind change about the minimum spectators for a WC. i also thought the minimum was in the 30,000 range.That silly Tower is an irrelevance to the layout
.By the time you take away the seats for coaches, athletes, VIPs, WA people,and media, how many seats for the general public??.May even get a few non USA fans there. ??
When i watched the DL meet held at the WC venue , immediately after the OG, with the attendance of many of the best athletes in the world, the Stadium was 35 percent empty.

[philipo]

The Diamond League calendar announced yesterday has one British Grand Prix set for 21st May 2022.
The venue is stated as Birmingham/London (tbc) on the calendar and elsewhere Birmingham (London).
West Ham are to have their last Premier League home match of the season against Manchester City on Sunday 15th May.
15th to 21st inadequate time to transform the London Stadium from Football mode into Athletics mode I would have thought.

So perhaps the Grand Prix is intended as a test event for the Commonwealth Games and also signifies a permanent switch away from the London Stadium?

the London Stadium is just a great memory for me of the OG and WC. The God of football rules !!

[trickstat]

The Diamond League calendar announced yesterday has one British Grand Prix set for 21st May 2022.
The venue is stated as Birmingham/London (tbc) on the calendar and elsewhere Birmingham (London).
West Ham are to have their last Premier League home match of the season against Manchester City on Sunday 15th May.
15th to 21st inadequate time to transform the London Stadium from Football mode into Athletics mode I would have thought.

So perhaps the Grand Prix is intended as a test event for the Commonwealth Games and also signifies a permanent switch away from the London Stadium?

I wonder if London is the back up just in case the new Alaxander Stadium isn't ready? However, given the recent difficulties with getting the London Stadium it isn't very suitable as a standby option.

A true test event for a championships should really be another champs where you have multiple heats and things to test marshalling areas and so on.

[LuckySpikes]

Noticed that Conor Dary of TF Forum counted the extra temporary seats at that little stadium in Eugene, and there will be just over 15,000 permanent and temporary seatscombined, for the 2022 WC, assuming he is correct
. Seb Coe and his NIke pals must have undergone a bit of a mind change about the minimum spectators for a WC. i also thought the minimum was in the 30,000 range.That silly Tower is an irrelevance to the layout
.By the time you take away the seats for coaches, athletes, VIPs, WA people,and media, how many seats for the general public??.May even get a few non USA fans there. ??
When i watched the DL meet held at the WC venue , immediately after the OG, with the attendance of many of the best athletes in the world, the Stadium was 35 percent empty.

Given the size of the Eugene stadium it looks like it should hold a lot more than 15,000. But, I'll take Conor's word for it.

[MBChristie]

12,650 permanent seats, expandable to almost 30,000

[LuckySpikes]

"12,650 permanent seats, expandable to almost 30,000"

Yeah, that's what I heard/read but the guy in the T&FN Forum has apparently done a rough count and come up with just over 15,000.

[Laps]

The story of the Diamond League meeting and Birmingham moves on -

https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1116182/birmingham-2022-diamond-league-event

UK Athletics are conspicuously absent from reports or comment. Which gives the impression that the London Stadium contract and the Diamond League are unimportant to them or perhaps they have no idea how to react? Maybe they should make up their mind before events overtake them as they did last year.

[stirling]

Would be useful to know what UK athletics are thinking or planning? Would like to know what they are planning for the Olympic stadium and Crystal Palace. A few years back they said they had no interest in Crystal Palace. With the Olympic stadium not being a realistic option, in terms of having to pay £3M each time to convert it back to athletics, I wonder if they are having a re-think? Or perhaps they're silent because stuck in legal battles?

[stirling]

@cpsportscentre - Twitter site dedicated to a new start for Crystal Palace Sports Centre - revamp, invest. Please support us!

[carterhatch]

A visual update of Alexander Stadium

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1493616324265881612

Looking very good - 1.53 has a great shot of the entire complex.

Does anyone know what they are constructing infront of the stadium seen from 1.06 -1.12 and again 1.44 - 1.46

They seem to have also squeezed in a seperate throws area best seen around 1.25 - good.

If they were to add a basic indoor 200m track/ facility in the park, maybe make that resevoir 'triathlon friendly', and a few outdoor gym peices then it would be a very impressive 'well-being park'.

Chapeau to all those involved.

[RunUnlimited]

Looking very nice indeed.

This is what should be happening with the Crystal Palace athletics track and swimming pool facilities too.

[carterhatch]

I agree with you 100% RunUnlimited - spent many hours at the Crystal Palace 'national centre' in my youth and it is a travesty how they have allowed it to decline. Upthread there was a poster signposting to a twitter site dedicated to its revival - I hope that the funds can be found.

[carterhatch]

While another thread discusses the fate of the London 'Olympic' stadium and its athletics legacy ... this link is an update from Apr 22 of the Alexander Stadium... and from the bird's eye view, the complex is looking very impressive.

https://www.skyscrapercity.com/threads/alexander-stadium-cwg-2022-redevelopment-birmingham-30-000-underway.2051873/page-6

[RunUnlimited]

While another thread discusses the fate of the London 'Olympic' stadium and its athletics legacy ... this link is an update from Apr 22 of the Alexander Stadium... and from the bird's eye view, the complex is looking very impressive.

https://www.skyscrapercity.com/threa...2051873/page-6

Looking very, very good.

In future UK Championships (when they return from their temporary stay in Manchester), I'm predicting a fair few national records falling on that track.... the ever pernicious British weather permitting of course.

[Ladyloz]

Although disappointing that Birmingham doesn't have the new super quick track that was in Tokyo and is in Eugene

[trickstat]

I suspect the lack of a superfast service might be a consequence of Alexander Stadium's 'day job' being as the home track and training venue for Birchfield Harriers. Although I think Eugene has an equivalent role for Oregon University.

[Chafford1]

The track issue at Alexander Stadium has been picked up by the Times this morning. Being framed as Birmingham City Council choosing a cut price option that is not up to Olympic standards. Birmingham has the cheaper Beynon BSS 1000 track whereas Eugene has the BSS 2000 track.The Times article suggests this might impact on UKA's potential decision to replace the London Stadium with Alexander Stadium as the main athletics stadium in the UK.

[marilyn1]

Is it a surprise.? No its not, very British in fact. Spent my life in the construction industry and I know only too well that every local authority in this country and central government also will always go for the cheap option which turns out to be most expensive in the long run... geniuses!.
My greatest memory of L.A. stupidity is when the M62 to Hull was finished it was being repaired within a year or so, due to a lower spec than was necessary to save public money ...yeah.

[marilyn1]

so, presumably, every below par performance may be the fault of the track.😁

[marilyn1]

For those that know these matters, is the track that was used for the Olympic Stadium the same spec as is used at Birmingham, or lower or faster??

[Chafford1]

For those that know these matters, is the track that was used for the Olympic Stadium the same spec as is used at Birmingham, or lower or faster??

The Olympic Stadium track was a state of the art Mondo track when it was installed for 2012, so not the same. The Birmingham track is the cheapest spec. Beynon performance track.

[Paps]

It’s the 2nd highest tier, not the cheapest.