14 replies to this topic

[Apple]

ok

[Rols O'Bertilsson]

I'm convinced that London is one of those Commonwealth cities that is beyond thinking about a CWGs now. It would never be able to top 2012.

[Alexjc]

Kendegra, on July 08 2005,06:38, said:

Once you've had lobster and caviar, fish n' chips just doesn't taste the same.

Ha Ha true...Just look how long it took Melbourne to host the CWGs after 1956, yeap, 50 years, and then it was almost by default.

Still if Hamilton wins 2014...

Sydney may want them but will always want the Olympics back, Melbourne the same. Auckland or Christchurch possibly, although HOPEFULLY by then, an African city would have hosted!!!

[stevie]

2030 is so reserved for Huntly

[Suit U Sir !!!]

Mick The Mick, on July 11 2005,14:19, said:

I can certainly imagine a London bid for the Commonwealths, if only to ensure that the facilities built for 2012 are well used in the future ... in the same way that Paris has bid for virtually every event going since the 1998 world cup!!

Post 2012, London may not have the venues to host a commonwealth games.

As I explained in my earlier post, the plan is to move a few venues to other cities. Some venues designed/ built/ constructed so that it will be easy to relocate them to other parts of the UK.

Secondly- what fate will the olympic stadium take post 2012? In the plans it says the stadium will have a reduced capacity to around 30,000. It will host athletics.

But I seriously doubt this - London already has crystal palace, an athletics stadium of similar capacity. The stadium will probably be converted into a football stadium post 2012, just like the 2002 commonwealth stadium was turned into the home of Manchester City Football club.

I think London's 2012 bid team said that the stadium would remain a future athletics venue just to impress the IOC, and further strengthen the bid from the perspective of legacy.

But now the bid has been won, I honestly don't see the stadium remaining as an athletics venue, they would make more money by selling it to a local football club, such as West Ham United etc...

[Mick The Mick]

Suit U Sir !!!, on July 12 2005,08:56, said:

Mick The Mick, on July 11 2005,14:19, said:

I can certainly imagine a London bid for the Commonwealths, if only to ensure that the facilities built for 2012 are well used in the future ... in the same way that Paris has bid for virtually every event going since the 1998 world cup!!

Post 2012, London may not have the venues to host a commonwealth games.

As I explained in my earlier post, the plan is to move a few venues to other cities. Some venues designed/ built/ constructed so that it will be easy to relocate them to other parts of the UK.

Secondly- what fate will the olympic stadium take post 2012? In the plans it says the stadium will have a reduced capacity to around 30,000. It will host athletics.

But I seriously doubt this - London already has crystal palace, an athletics stadium of similar capacity. The stadium will probably be converted into a football stadium post 2012, just like the 2002 commonwealth stadium was turned into the home of Manchester City Football club.

I think London's 2012 bid team said that the stadium would remain a future athletics venue just to impress the IOC, and further strengthen the bid from the perspective of legacy.

But now the bid has been won, I honestly don't see the stadium remaining as an athletics venue, they would make more money by selling it to a local football club, such as West Ham United etc...

Fair points

However, of the key venues required for a commonwealths - a much smaller scale affair than the olympics - London would have the majority permanently available ... velodrome, pool, hockey centre, plus major arenas (one in the park, plus Excel and the dome).

Also, other venues in London could also be used (Alexander Palace, Earls Court, Olympia) if the Commonwealth guys aren't so stringent over the need for a very compact set-up

The point on the stadium is a good one ... I have consistently held the theory that the stadium won't be downscaled in the manner proposed and that it will be used by at least one of the  local teams (I'd say Spurs are more likely than the Hammers, as they are already on the look out for a solution to their cramped conditions in WHL).

However, there is a lobby from the athletics side, led by the hero of the hour Lord Coe, who want to see London on the athletics world circuit, with Golden league meetings, IAAF, etc. So I imagine that somewhere in the next couple of years the suggestion will emerge that London should bid for other major championships that require a major (60,000+) athletics venue, in order to build the case for a permanent, substantial athletics legacy.

That however, doesn't necesarily preclude the idea that a football team could move in post-Games ... but Spurs would have to accept that an athletics track is a permanent feature of the stadium unless some sort of moveable stands solution can be found.

Similarly, whilst the current plan for the hockey venue is to downscale the main stadium to 5,000, there could be an alternative life for the 20,000 seat venue if one of the smaller local football teams (Leyton?) or a rugby team (Saracens?) fancy moving in.

The other stumbling block, though, would be the athletes village. If London sells the accommodation off, then where would you fit the athletes for an IAAF or Commonwealth games? So, to provide the flexibility, and to fulfill a social requirement, why doesn't the London team consider selling the facility off a student accommodation, leaving open the possibility to take back large sections in the summer for major events of this type?

As we have already seen with Athens and with Beijing, there are many areas where the plan presented can be changed in the 7 years leading up to the games .. the plans for the main stadium, hockey stadium, athletes village, etc could all be adjusted still

[Kenadian]

The Commonwealth Games are perfectly designed for three types of cities:  those that are "secondary" in countries that have better Olympic hosting capabilities in larger cities (like Manchester with London and Victoria with Montreal/Toronto); those that one day might aspire to host the Olympics and want experience under their belt (like Kuala Lumpur, Auckland and New Delhi); those that won't see something like an Olympic Games for a long time (like Melbourne because of Sydney 2000).

If Toronto and Sydney have no interest in future Commonwealth Games, I just don't see how London ever would.

[ArChAnGeL]

Im utterly convinced that the centennial games of the CWG will go to London in 2030.

[Aronious]

Im sure London, Hamilton, Auckland or Wellington and Perth or Adelaide will make a bid in 2030.

[Kenadian]

Once you've had lobster and caviar, fish n' chips just doesn't taste the same.