The East Manchester site will be the UK home of both speedway and basketball.
The proposals include a National Speedway Stadium and National Speedway Academy – that will be the home of Manchester’s historic Belle Vue Aces team – a 3G all-weather pitch, a National Basketball Centre, a rugby pitch and improvements to the existing fitness and leisure facilities.
Manchester City Council, in partnership with the Belle Vue Aces speedway team and England Basketball, are now preparing a planning application for the project.
ISG will work with AFL Architects on the new facility. It was appointed via the North West Construction Hub (NWCH).
The £4.5m building costs for the new National Speedway Stadium will be initially funded by the city council. This loan will be repaid by Belle Vue Aces though an annual rent as part of the club’s lease agreement.
The purpose-built 6,500-capacity speedway venue (artist's impression below), with potential for additional temporary seating for larger events, is expected to be good enough to pitch for international bike events.
The proposed National Basketball Centre, part funded by England Basketball, will include an extension to an existing sports hall to create a four court training centre that will also be suitable for a variety of national and international competition and events.
The plans also look to replace two existing water-based synthetic hockey pitches with a more robust 3G pitch, reducing the high water requirements of the current surfaces, and providing a new facility suitable for football, hockey and multi-sports.
Cllr Jim Battle, deputy leader of Manchester City Council, said: "Every milestone towards Belle Vue Sports Village is a step closer to realising the potential of this area. Of course there is still some way to go – planning and beyond – but we welcome the experience of ISG to deliver the development in the future."
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