WEST Yorkshire is crying out for a 5,000 seat indoor sports arena to boost sports such as basketball and netball – the region’s mayor has been told.
An expert in indoor sports told West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin that the existing spaces for such sports “weren’t good enough,” and that a new arena could help fund much needed facilities from Bradford to Wakefield.
Dr Mark Mills is an academic, basketball commentator and expert who has had a role in clubs such as West Yorkshire Hawks.
At a meeting of West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Culture, Heritage and Sports Committee on Monday he revealed his proposals for a new sports facility he said would be a “game changer” for the region.
He told members that more under 16s play basketball than rugby and cricket combined, but the sport received a fraction of the funding awarded to rugby and cricket.
A lack of facilities such as indoor sports halls, as well as venues for professional basketball, netball and hockey clubs to play, meant many young people were not able to pursue such sports.
He suggested West Yorkshire needed a 5,000 seat arena, funded by the private sector, and profits from the venue could support grassroots clubs.
Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
Dr Mills said: “This is not just about creating new spaces to play, this is about changing the future of every indoor sport in the county.
“I’ve got to see how other countries deliver facilities for indoor sports, and as a country we are not great at it. You go to European countries that are much less developed than us, and they do a much better job.”
He said almost every provincial city in Europe has an indoor sports arena that can cater for crowds of around 5,000 people, but there were very few such facilities in the UK, even in major cities.
He told the committee: “With Councils reducing budgets for statutory services, indoor sports are left with crumbling facilities – if they are open at all. The facilities are not fit for purpose. What we have isn’t good enough.
“I live in Heckmondwike, we have a wonderful leisure centre, but it doesn’t have a sports hall.
“All this means young people get fewer opportunities to lead healthy lifestyles.”
He pointed out that involvement in activities such as sports can help prevent young people from falling into criminal or violent lifestyles.
He suggested West Yorkshire needed a multi-use, multi-purpose, 5,000 seat sports arena that could be used by professional clubs.
Such a venue would be run on a commercial basis, but with some of the profit set aside to fund “pop up” indoor sports facilities in areas where space for grassroots clubs is lacking.
The area would lead to more big teams setting up in cities like Leeds and Bradford, with Dr Mills saying the lack of sustainable venues for such teams held back the creation of local professional teams.
Referring to the need for the arena to be a commercial, rather than a heavily subsidised venture, he said: “Sports can’t keep going back to the public sector to ask for cash.”
He said the area would cost between £20 and 25 million, and told members it would need to be a commercial venue that investors “would get a return on.”
Project management and identifying the right land would be down to the public sector, but the cost of the venue would fall to the private sector.
He concluded saying: “I believe this is something that will change indoor sports across the county, and change young people’s lives.”
He did not suggest any particular location in West Yorkshire for the venue.
Ms Brabin said: “If we’re ever going to bid for the Olympics, we’d need big venues like this.”
She pointed out that the arena would be a project that would not likely be complete for several years, and asked if the community pop ups idea could be implemented first.
Dr Mills said: “That would require clubs going cap in hand to the public sector. These are not expensive to keep open and run, but they won’t break even or cover the costs that they incur.”
He said the income from any arena would ensure smaller facilities could be run without being a huge financial burden on local clubs.
Nigel Harrison from the Yorkshire Sport Foundation said: “The area is crying out for this.”
The committee agreed to carry out a feasibility study into Dr Mills proposals.
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