Ricoh Arena Will Bid for Olympic Football Event
Coventry, United Kingdom, August 14, 2009 --(PR.com)-- The Ricoh Arena in Coventry will bid to stage Olympic football matches in 2012.
The decision comes after Villa Park, the only Midlands venue scheduled to stage preliminary Olympic football games, withdrew as a host for the tournament.
Officials at Villa Park informed the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) that they planned to go ahead with construction work at the Birmingham ground and as a result have opted to remove themselves from the list of five venues outside London for preliminary matches.
This means the 32,000 capacity Ricoh Arena is now among the favourites to step in as a replacement for Villa Park.
The venue easily meets strict International Olympic Committee guidelines which state venues must have an all-seater stadium with at least a 30,000 capacity and be able to provide high quality corporate entertainment.
Daniel Gidney, chief executive of the Ricoh Arena, said the venue would be perfect for football in the 2012 Olympics.
“We have been announced as a venue to host pool matches for the Rugby World Cup in 2015 which proves we have the facilities and organisational abilities to meet the demands of running an international tournament,” he said.
“As well as being the home of Coventry City, we have experience of staging international football matches since we secured a sell-out attendance at an England under-21 qualifier against Germany.
“We also have great transport links since we are located near the M6 and we have two international airports within a 45-minute drive.
“We meet the requirements of having an all-seater stadium and a capacity of over 30,000 and this would be an ideal way of further showcasing the Ricoh to a world-wide audience.”
Hosting the Olympic football tournament could also see the players accommodated in the region and teams using venues in the area as pre-games training camps.
Other venues on the list include Hampden Park, the Millennium Stadium, Old Trafford and St James' Park.
The bid is expected to be supported by Coventry City Council and Advantage West Midlands and a decision is expected to be made by LOCOG before the end of the year.
Tom Clift, manager of the Coventry and Warwickshire 2012 Partnership, said: “Being selected to host an Olympic sport as part of the London 2012 Games would be immense and a tremendous honour.
“You only have to look at the 2005 International Children’s Games, 2007 UK School Games, the Heineken Cup and England under-21 internationals, to see that Coventry and Warwickshire is highly capable of staging Olympic football and I can think of few venues better equipped than the Ricoh Arena.
“This truly represents a once in a life time opportunity for Coventry and Warwickshire to engage fully in the 2012 Games and to bring the Olympic experience alive for all communities and the West Midlands region.
“Hosting an event like this could also have significant benefits for the local economy and be a huge inspiration to local communities to participate and get involved in sport.”
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Picture caption: The Ricoh Arena
Media enquiries:
Simon Gilbert
Advent Communications
2 Edison Building
Electric Wharf
Sandy Lane
Coventry CV1 4JA
Tel: 024 7663 3636
http://www.advent-communications.co.uk
The decision comes after Villa Park, the only Midlands venue scheduled to stage preliminary Olympic football games, withdrew as a host for the tournament.
Officials at Villa Park informed the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) that they planned to go ahead with construction work at the Birmingham ground and as a result have opted to remove themselves from the list of five venues outside London for preliminary matches.
This means the 32,000 capacity Ricoh Arena is now among the favourites to step in as a replacement for Villa Park.
The venue easily meets strict International Olympic Committee guidelines which state venues must have an all-seater stadium with at least a 30,000 capacity and be able to provide high quality corporate entertainment.
Daniel Gidney, chief executive of the Ricoh Arena, said the venue would be perfect for football in the 2012 Olympics.
“We have been announced as a venue to host pool matches for the Rugby World Cup in 2015 which proves we have the facilities and organisational abilities to meet the demands of running an international tournament,” he said.
“As well as being the home of Coventry City, we have experience of staging international football matches since we secured a sell-out attendance at an England under-21 qualifier against Germany.
“We also have great transport links since we are located near the M6 and we have two international airports within a 45-minute drive.
“We meet the requirements of having an all-seater stadium and a capacity of over 30,000 and this would be an ideal way of further showcasing the Ricoh to a world-wide audience.”
Hosting the Olympic football tournament could also see the players accommodated in the region and teams using venues in the area as pre-games training camps.
Other venues on the list include Hampden Park, the Millennium Stadium, Old Trafford and St James' Park.
The bid is expected to be supported by Coventry City Council and Advantage West Midlands and a decision is expected to be made by LOCOG before the end of the year.
Tom Clift, manager of the Coventry and Warwickshire 2012 Partnership, said: “Being selected to host an Olympic sport as part of the London 2012 Games would be immense and a tremendous honour.
“You only have to look at the 2005 International Children’s Games, 2007 UK School Games, the Heineken Cup and England under-21 internationals, to see that Coventry and Warwickshire is highly capable of staging Olympic football and I can think of few venues better equipped than the Ricoh Arena.
“This truly represents a once in a life time opportunity for Coventry and Warwickshire to engage fully in the 2012 Games and to bring the Olympic experience alive for all communities and the West Midlands region.
“Hosting an event like this could also have significant benefits for the local economy and be a huge inspiration to local communities to participate and get involved in sport.”
###
Picture caption: The Ricoh Arena
Media enquiries:
Simon Gilbert
Advent Communications
2 Edison Building
Electric Wharf
Sandy Lane
Coventry CV1 4JA
Tel: 024 7663 3636
http://www.advent-communications.co.uk
Contact
Ricoh Arena
Simon Gilbert
024 7663 3636
www.ricoharena.com
Simon Gilbert
024 7663 3636
www.ricoharena.com
Contact
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