Background

Birmingham City Council will be building its first bespoke gymnastics facility in its Perry Barr Constituency. The gymnastics centre, which is currently being known as the Gymnastics and Martial Arts Centre, will be a dual specialist sports facility as it will also be home to the Aikido & Karate Fellowships. The realisation of this facility started back in 2002 when it was declared that the Birmingham Sports Centre, which houses a multitude of sports, was surplus to requirement. This in turn meant that the centre and all other buildings on site would be put up for sale and new homes found. It was agreed that for two of the most successful sports based at the centre brand new facilities would be built; this was by way of using a percentage of the land sale price to do so.

Sod Cutting Ceremony

Official work began in May 2007, ahead of the June schedule, on the construction of the GMAC. The occasion was marked by a ceremonial first spade dig (sod cutting ceremony). A photo shoot also tool place and included one of the CBGC up and coming junior gymnasts, Louisa Maher; Jane Fellows, 5th Dan Aikido Sensei and representing Martial Arts; Councilor. Ray Hassell; Jane Edwards, British Gymnastics Representative; Steve Salt, Constituency Leisure Manger for Perry Barr; Phil Barrow, Gymnastics Development Officer and finally a host of representatives from Thomas Vales, the official contractors.

GMAC

The total budget allocated for the build is £7.03m which will be going towards the impressive pitted 1,840 sq ft of gymnastics working area along with its 450 retractable spectator seating area. The specification size was increased from its original in order to meet International training standards. Discussions are already underway for the centre to be used as one of the 2012 pre-Olympic training venues. The facility will become the home of the City of Birmingham Gymnastics Club and as well as the migration of the current recreation and competitive programmes there will be new programmes developed for schools in that area through the ongoing work with the two local Sports Colleges ( Hamstead Hall School and Kingsbury School ).

Expected Completition Date: August 2008