Greg Warnecke

Greg Warnecke

Visit to National Indoor Sports Arena & Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome

Last Friday I had the opportunity to visit the site of the National Indoor Sports Arena (NISA) and Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome (Velodrome), in the East End of Glasgow. I was accompanied by our PR Manager, Holly Wheeler (also the official photographer on this occasion!). After having driven past the site on a number of occasion and seeing the building literally grow from out of the ground, it was the first time that I was able to get out on site and up close to see the progress, so understandably, I was pretty excited. Let me give you some background on why I was so excited…

Not long after I arrived in Glasgow, I spent some time working with Glasgow Life (formerly Culture & Sport Glasgow) and the appointed architects to review the original plans and give consideration to the sport specific technical requirements for both Badminton and Cycling (the Games sports that will be staged in the venue), as well as any additional Games specific requirements that we could incorporate into the venue before construction began.

At the time, the NISA and Velodrome were literally drawings on a few pieces of paper. On paper it was, and remains an impressive building – both from a sport perspective and as a piece of modern architecture. It really will stand out – in a good way of course – in the East End of Glasgow and open up so many possibilities for the people of Glasgow to participate in a wide range of sport and recreation opportunities, so it is more than just being exciting for me and the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

So you can imagine my excitement when I had the opportunity to visit the site for the first time. Once we had been outfitted in the appropriate safety items (work boots, vest and hard hat) and had a brief safety induction, we were shown around the site by the Project Manager Kevin, and basically given an access all areas behind the scenes tour.

You have to remember that it is very much still a construction site, so it was important to be shown different elements of the project by Kevin and stick to the designated areas. We made our way up the stairs and into what will be the central concourse area of the venue – or the hub that connects the NISA to the Velodrome. When it is finished, this area will house the main spectator concessions and amenities and will be connected to the other floors by some impressive ‘sun-filled’ atriums.

We had an opportunity to look at the NISA part of the venue, where there was plenty of construction going on. Cherry pickers and scissors lifts were hard at work lifting pieces of ventilation into the roof, while sheets of glass have already been installed to the outside of the building – before long, the NISA will be fully enclosed and the key interior works will begin, including all of the foundations for the indoor Athletics track. Adjacent to the NISA will be three smaller sports halls, which we will use for Badminton Warm-Up and Training requirements. But before and after the Games, this area will host Basketball, Netball, Volleyball and plenty of other activities for the local community, including playing home to The Glasgow Wildcats Netball and Rocks Basketball Teams.

Next it was over to see the site of the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome. Once again, everyone was hard at work and a mixture of lifts and scaffold were also in place to facilitate the continuing construction. It was not hard to imagine the track being fully installed and the speed of the cyclists flying by, with the noise and excitement of the crowd, hopefully cheering on Team Scotland to one of the first Gold medals of the Games. This really will be an iconic venue – linked to the passion and excitement of Scottish sport and of course to such a hugely successful and world class athlete such as Sir Chris Hoy.

I can tell you, as I looked at each part of the venue, the hairs on the back of my neck started to stand on end as I could see some of the world’s best athletes on the field of play for each sport competing in Badminton and Cycling, come July 2014. But equally as exciting was the thought of full stadiums, cheering fans and that the Games will hopefully inspire the young people of Scotland to strive to be the next Sir Chris Hoy or Susan Egelstaff – where they will have world class facilities in their backyard!

We also had an opportunity to check out the other floors of the hub, where a range of sport offices and even a fitness suite will be housed. Last it was onto the roof where we were able to get a full appreciation for the site – including a 1km cycling loop outside – as well as the proximity to Celtic Park (across the road), and more importantly how close the Commonwealth Games Village is to the venue. It is literally a solid Badminton smash across the road!

So hopefully you have been able to understand why I am so excited. The National Indoor Sports Arena and Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome are going to be two amazing venues and will go a long way to ensuring that we are able to plan and deliver a truly outstanding athlete centred and sport focused Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

The Games are just under three and a half years to go and things are progressing at a rapid pace. Seeing such progress, I cannot help but look ahead to the fun, excitement and energy that the Games will generate for the people of Glasgow and Scotland. So mark it on your calendars and make sure you don’t miss this once in a generation opportunity and I will look forward to seeing you at the Games…

Until then – go out and try one of our 17 Games sports or another sport and recreational activity and remember to Sport Your Trainers on March 14!

Yours in Sport,

Greg Warnecke
Head of Sport
Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games

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