Sporting chance of a share in Olympics

Feb 13 2008 by Paul James, The Journal

TWENTY sports venues across the North East are in with a chance of bringing Olympic athletes to the region in the run-up to the London Games, The Journal can reveal.

Facilities ranging from hockey clubs to gymnastic centres, from Premier League football grounds to boxing clubs have all been recommended to organisers of the 2012 event.

They are up against more than 700 venues across the country bidding to win a slice of the money generated by the 205 Olympic and 162 Paralympic teams that will arrive in the UK. Next month, a decision is due from the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) on which of the facilities to include in an official guide book that will be taken to the Beijing Olympics this summer.

Those being put forward by One NorthEast include some of the region’s major sports venues, such as Gateshead Stadium, the new 50m swimming pool in Sunderland, the Tees Barrage and Hartlepool Marina.

Newcastle United’s St James’s Park is already down to host matches in the Olympic football tournament, and the facilities at Middlesbrough and Sunderland football clubs are among the 20 put forward for training bases.

Other smaller bids have come from the likes of Deerness Gymnastics and Leisure Centre, in Ushaw Moor, County Durham, Morpeth Cricket, Hockey and Tennis Club and Glenn McCrory’s International School of Boxing, based in Newbiggin Hall, Newcastle.

Yesterday, Stacy Hall, One NorthEast director of communications and tourism, and board member of the North East England London 2012 Games Forum, said: “We are striving to have as many North East facilities included in the pre-Games training camp guide book as possible.

“This guide will be launched by LOCOG at the Beijing Games in the summer to overseas federations and it will include those North East facilities chosen by LOCOG.

“These facilities have to meet specific technical requirements to be able to cater for world-class athletes. Playing host to Olympic athletes will boost regional image and reputation, showing we have the capability to stage sporting events in the future and encouraging more people to participate in sport.

“It’s a great opportunity for the region and we look forward to the announcement on March 3 to find out which facilities have been selected.”

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In the running to be approved as training camps

NORTH East venues put forward as Olympic training camps for the 2012 games:

• Benfield Centre for Sporting Excellence, Newcastle

• Blue Flames Conference and Leisure Centre, Benton, North Tyneside

• Consett Sports Village, County Durham

• Deerness Gymnastics and Leisure Centre, Ushaw Moor, County Durham

• Durham University

• Gateshead International Stadium

• Hartlepool Marina

• Middlesbrough Football Club

• Monkton Stadium, Jarrow,

• Morpeth Cricket, Hockey and Tennis Club

• North Tyneside Council

• Riverside Sports Pavilion, Chester-le-Street, County Durham

• South Durham Gymnastics, Spennymoor, County Durham

• Sport Northumbria, Newcastle

• Sunderland Aquatic Centre

• Sunderland University

• Tees Barrage, Stockton

• Temple Park Centre, South Shields

• Glenn McCrory’s International School of Boxing, Newbiggin Hall, Newcastle

• University of Teesside