Dec 5 2002 | |
Story from the South Wales Echo | |
CARDIFF City today unveiled its vision of the future - a spectacular 60,000-seater soccer stadium. The Second Division club has submitted a detailed planning application to Cardiff council aimed at transforming 62 acres of land at Leckwith, opposite its current home at Ninian Park. City owner Sam Hammam is hoping the £100m project, which could create 1,500 jobs, will receive the go-ahead in May, clearing the way for a new stadium to open in time for the start of the 2005-06 season. The application covers a 60,000-seater stadium but the first phase will involve 30,000 seats, which could increase over four stages to reach the capacity. A sliding roof for the stadium, which could be named after St David, may also be incorporated into the development in the future. A four-star 150-bedroom hotel, complete with a fitness centre and pool, is expected to be linked by a bridge to the stadium which will have banqueting facilities for up to 800 people, conference and exhibition space. A nightclub could also be part of the development. There will be hospitality boxes for sponsors, along the western side of the ground, but this would be extended around the stadium as capacity is increased. High quality restaurants and fast food outlets run by top international operators will also form part of the ambitious scheme. A retail park with a 100,000 sq ft food supermarket is planned alongside on the Leckwith land, with 300,000 sq ft of out-of-town stores selling bulky goods. There will be separate entrances and parking spaces to the stadium. Ninian Park will be redeveloped for housing with around 150 homes, including townhouses planned. Around 30 per cent of the homes are to be earmarked for social housing as part of an agreement with Cardiff council. The plans include the re-location of the athletics stadium across Leckwith Road with community floodlit sports pitches and a replacement artificial surface, alongside the development. Cardiff City are paying the re-building costs and the existing Leckwith site cannot be demolished until the new one is complete. Major road improvements will be carried out, including making Leckwith Road four lanes, with six lanes in parts, and improvements to the roundabout and the access off the link road. There will be a total of 3,700 car parking spaces at Leckwith, 2,000 of them for soccer fans and 1,700 for customers of the retail park. The club has also agreed to provide a new car park and a leisure park around the Tesco Metro store in Canton as part of its deal with the council. The people of Cardiff get the chance to view the plans when a public exhibition is staged at City Hall from December 16. Mr Hammam said: "At present we employ 350 full and part-time staff. This could rise to the equivalent of 1,500 full-timers, if we are in the Premiership. There will be a huge range of jobs, with the restaurants alone capable of serving 3,000 meals a day. "Our turnover could rise to between £60m and £90m a year, to well over £100m in the Champions League. "There are not just the direct jobs, but the money pumped into the local economy will create thousands more jobs. I cannot estimate as yet the number of jobs created in the retail park." Mr Hammam went on: "It would be ideal if we received planning permission by May or June so we can start work on the athletics stadium, followed shortly after by the remediation work needed at Leckwith land, a former tip." He is confident that the scheme will receive the go-ahead, pointing to the approval for retail developments including the Ikea scheme in Grangetown, the sports village in Cardiff Bay and Morfa Stadium in Swansea. Mr Hammam said that a decision had yet to be made on the name for the new complex and he would allow fans to have their say. "I want something that shows that we are in Wales. It needs to be Welsh and something strong, such as St David."
Meet the premiership squad behind the new City stadium project We can be world-beaters if we just believe in ourselves - Sam |
