EXCLUSIVE

BIRMINGHAM IN THE SWIM FOR OLYMPIC BID

15-12-2006

The Stirrer can reveal that Birmingham Council has opened talks with Aston University about building a new 50 metre swimming pool on campus - with
the hope of attracting either China or the United States to base themselves here for the 2012 London Olympics.

Our sources have dismissed claims - reported on The Stirrer yesterday - that's it's already virtually too late to make a successful bid.

Aston University is known to be re-thinking it's current provision of student accommodation on the Gosta Green campus close to the soon to be regenerated Eastside, and that's given the city a chance to get involved.

We understand that a meeting was held recently involving the University, the Council, Advantage West Midlands and other regeneration partners.

There was general agreement that an Olympic-size pool capable of hosting major championships and adaptable to community use would be an asset both to students and locals. The stumbling block, not surprisingly, is the cost - currently estimated at £50 million.

As we understand it, the major funders have signalled their willingness to get involved in such a major scheme, but are now waiting to see what level of financial input Aston is willing to make.

The possibility of a similar scheme involving Birmingham University is also being investigated. Their main campus in Edgbaston is located outside a regeneration zone, so the same public funding wouldn't be available, but if they bring enough cash to the table, they could be in contention too.


Labour critics have said that given the long lead-in times needed to make a successful bid to host an Olympic nation and then get the pool built, Birmingham has already all but missed the boat.

But our sources dismiss that, saying that the whole process would only take a couple of years at most, and that the political commitment is there.

They also point out that most of the other facilities are already in place across the region, what with the NIA, the Alexander Stadium and Stoneleigh which could host equestrian practice.

Birmingham has been courting both the United States and China and is hopeful of attracting at least one of these Olympic big-hitters to the city in 2012.