DIAMOND DELIVERY
Gateshead Stadium to be upgraded to stage top world athletics series events
ALMOST £400,000 will be spent upgrading Gateshead International Stadium so it’s ready to hold major athletic events.
The borough is finalising a contract with British Athletics to hold three editions of the elite track and field events in 2020, 2021 and 2024.
It is hoped the stadium could play host to the World Athletics Diamond League series - which also hosts events in Doha, Shanghai, Stockholm, Rome, Oslo, Rabat, Eugene, Lausanne, Monaco, London, Birmingham, Paris, Zurich and Brussels.
The opportunity has arisen due to the refurbishment of Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium ahead of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
On Tuesday, Gateshead Council’s cabinet voted to invest £387,000 in the required improvements for the sports venue.
The new funding comes on top of £1,210,000 agreed for refurbishment work at the stadium in February.
Council leader Martin Gannon said the scheme is needed to bring more money into the borough so the council can
fund its services. He said: “This is very much linked with our ambition of growing Gateshead’s economy.
“We have been hollowed out as a council and to sustain our services going forward, unless we get more money from the government, we need to get more income for the council.” The stadium’s east terrace canopy is out of action due to damage and the council is in
talks with contractors Willmott Dixon, which installed the structure in 2011, to replace it.
A report released in May estimated it would cost the council £320,000 per event to host the Diamond League, which will be paid for out the authority’s ‘Economic Growth, Culture and Place Shaping reserve.’
British Athletics has offered to support Gateshead in the process of bidding for future major events which may include competitions such as the European Athletics Championships and European Championships in 2026.