Sheffield Olympic legacy park community stadium reaches completion

Leading UK property regeneration expert, Scarborough Group International (SGI) has announced the Practical Completion of its new Community Stadium at Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, 16 months after breaking ground.

The delivery team, led by principal contractor, GMI Construction Group PLC, has overcome numerous complex challenges during construction, including the disruption caused by Brexit, a global pandemic and severe weather conditions.

Designed by award-winning architects, Whittam Cox and funded by OakNorth Bank, the Community Stadium has the capacity to hold 758 seated supporters under a covered grandstand, and a further 562 standing around the pitch perimeter, giving a total of 1,320, rising to circa 4,000 as future development phases are undertaken.

Beyond sport, the stadium has been cleverly designed to support SMEs involved in the life sciences sector, offering high-quality, flexible and collaborative business space, creating the perfect launch pad onto the Park and introduction to the diverse and rapidly-expanding community that is proud to call it home.

In the months ahead, SGI plans to introduce three state-of-the-art Padel Tennis Courts in close proximity to the Stadium, further expanding the active sporting opportunities available at the Park and reinforcing its health and wellbeing ethos.

As well as serving as the home of Betfred Championship rugby league team, Sheffield Eagles, the Community Stadium is open to use from other professional and grassroots sports teams, alongside the wider community.

Stephen Marriott, operations director at SGI, commented: “This year marks 10 years since London hosted the 2012 Olympic Games and the germ of an idea that would later become Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park took root in Richard Caborn’s mind.

“The Community Stadium has some of the best facilities in Sheffield and will create a lasting legacy for the local community so it’s incredibly poignant that we were able to deliver the building ahead of the anniversary celebrations.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the whole delivery team for their hard work and dedication in bringing the Community Stadium to life; despite encountering numerous complex challenges during construction, we are now only a matter of days away from hosting our first official event.”

Kate Martin, executive director of City Futures at Sheffield City Council, said: “Sheffield is a city that has always championed our fantastic sports teams, events and legacy so it's no surprise we are the only city outside of London to have an Olympic Legacy Park. It's fantastic to see the site continue to grow, with the new Community Stadium providing a permanent home for Sheffield Eagles, as well as creating a dedicated space for people to train and play sports together, from professionals to schoolchildren. We want everyone to take advantage of the brilliant facilities available, which will support more people to lead active healthy lifestyles and inspire our future athletes for generations to come.”

Richard Caborn, chair of Legacy Park Ltd, added: “I’m delighted to see the practical completion of the Community Stadium. This is an excellent example of Olympic legacy in action as we deliver a tangible legacy from the London 2012 Games through the four themes of Sport, Community, Environment and Economy.

“The stadium is a wonderful addition to the first class facilities at the Park and I look forward to seeing it come to life over the next few months bringing new businesses, accelerator programmes and education providers to the site.”

The Community Stadium is the first SGI building to be completed at Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, forming part of the first development phase which has attracted £100m of investment in the Park.

SGI has signed an agreement with Sheffield City Council to build on the significant progress made to date at the Park by developing a masterplan to deliver up to 1m sq ft of commercial space. Earlier this week it announced it had lodged a planning application with Sheffield City Council to deliver the National Centre for Child Health Technology (NCCHT); a global centre of excellence to improve child health at Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park in Attercliffe.