Venues of the 2022 Commonwealth Games

The venues for the 2022 Commonwealth Games will be based in Birmingham, Coventry, Royal Leamington Spa, Sandwell, Warwick, Wolverhampton, and London.

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2022 Commonwealth Games

Venues

The following venues will be used for the Games, with the marathon route still to be announced:[1]

Birmingham and the West Midlands

Outside West Midlands

Construction and renovation of venues

Alexander Stadium in Perry Barr, which is scheduled to host the ceremonies and athletics, is being renovated at a cost of £72 million. The stadium's seating capacity will be increased permanently from 12,700 to 18,000 and will allow more than 30,000 during the Games through additional temporary seating.[2] Northern Irish firm McLaughlin & Harvey will redevelop the stadium.[3]

A new aquatics centre, scheduled to host the swimming and diving events, is being built in Smethwick and is set to be completed in spring 2022.[4] British firm Wates designed the aquatics centre and is constructing at a cost of £73 million.[5][6]

Change in venues

In August 2017, during the preparation of the Birmingham bid, UK Athletics Chief Ed Warner proposed London Stadium in London to host the athletic events and rest of the sporting events would be in Birmingham and West Midlands. The London Stadium hosted the athletics and the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics as well as the 2017 World Athletic Championships and Para Athletics Championships. Ed Warner claimed that enough funds could be saved by using the London Stadium rather than renovating the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham.[7] In February 2019, Councillor Paul Tilsley claimed that the refurbished Alexander Stadium would become a white elephant after the Games as no long-term tenant for the stadium was identified. He was also concerned about the funding arrangement of the Games and claimed that spending funds in organizing the Games could put the council into very heavy debt.[8][9] On 21 June 2019, the Birmingham City Council released the images and plans for renovating the Alexander Stadium and claimed that it would create a legacy asset for the surrounding Perry Barr area. The council claimed that the stadium could become the permanent home for the UKA and host major athletics events such as the Diamond League meeting which is currently held at the London Stadium.[10] On 30 January 2020, Birmingham City Council's planning committee approved the renovation plans for Alexander Stadium which would cost £72 million.[11][12][13]

The Birmingham Organising Committee changed the venues of netball and rugby sevens events. The netball was moved from the Ricoh Arena in Coventry to the National Exhibition Centre in Solihull and the rugby sevens was moved from the Villa Park in Birmingham to the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. The former venues of those sporting events were decided during the preparation of the Birmingham bid in 2017 and the latter venues were decided in September 2019.[14]

Former plans

On 9 March 2020, the NEC Group announced they have submitted planning permission to Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council to expand the capacity of Resorts World Arena from 15,685 to 21,600, if approved, this would make the arena the largest indoor arena in the United Kingdom. This development would involve the demoltion of the existing roof, with an addition of an upper tier as well as other works including enhanced hospitality facilities as well as external, internal and major refurbishment works.[15] In June 2020, the NEC Group Arenas announced that the redevelopment work will not occur until after the Games due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[16]

References
  1. "The venues hosting the games across Birmingham and West Midlands". B2022. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  2. "Alexander Stadium revamp plans approved ahead of Commonwealth Games". ITV News. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
  3. Rogers, Dave (2020-03-13). "Winner emerges on 2022 Commonwealth Games stadium". Building. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
  4. "Sandwell Aquatics Centre". Sandwell Council. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
  5. "Wates appointed to deliver Sandwell Aquatic Centre". Wates. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
  6. "Wates appointed as main contractor to build Sandwell Aquatics Centre". Wates. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
  7. "Commonwealth Games 2022: Liverpool & Birmingham should use London Stadium - Ed Warner". BBC Sport. 2017-08-13. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  8. Dare, Tom (2019-02-18). "Alexander Stadium will be £75m white elephant, claim". birminghammail. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
  9. "Alexander Stadium will be £75m white elephant, claim". Genesis Radio Birmingham. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
  10. "Birmingham targets taking athletics off London as £70 million Alexander Stadium redevelopment plan for 2022 Commonwealth Games unveiled". www.insidethegames.biz. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  11. "Alexander Stadium revamp gets green light". AW. 2020-01-30. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
  12. "Commonwealth Games stadium revamp approved". BBC News. 2020-01-30. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
  13. "Birmingham approves proposals for Alexander Stadium redevelopment". Verdict Designbuild. 2020-01-31. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
  14. "Birmingham 2022 move netball from Coventry to NEC to cash in on popularity". www.insidethegames.biz. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  15. "Plans to expand major arena submitted". Insider Media Ltd. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  16. "Resorts World Arena expansion put on hold until after Commonwealth Games". The Stadium Business. 2020-06-02. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
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