New facilities including the stadium being planned for Premier League football club Everton FC and a proposed 50 metre swimming pool are at the heart of Liverpool’s bid to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Liverpool unveiled its bid for the Games promising to invest £1bn (US$1.3bn, €1bn) to transform the city, specifically the Bramley-Moore Dock waterfront area where the football stadium will be built.
The stadium – designed by Meis Architects and expected to be built by 2020 – will accommodate a temporary track to host all the athletics competitions.
The swimming pool would be built permanently and “provide a swimming and visitor attraction legacy” for the city.
Neighbouring north-west city Manchester is also contributing to the bid, although the Games would primarily take place in Liverpool if the campaign is successful.
Manchester’s Old Trafford Cricket Ground and Manchester Velodrome are being lined up to host T20 cricket and sprint cycling respectively.
Already constructed facilities earmarked for use within Liverpool include the 11,000-capacity Arena and Convention Centre, Anfield Stadium, St George’s Hall, Goodison Park and Stanley Park.
A new £5.5bn (US$7bn, €6.3bn) residential area being built next to Everton’s prospective stadium will house the Athletes’ Village.
Aside from infrastructure already being built, the total cost of hosting the Games will be £672m (US$860.6m, €768.4m) according to Liverpool City Council. The local authority will contribute a quarter (£137m, US$175.4m, €156.7m) of the public sector fund, which is expected to be £547m (US$700.3m, €625.5m).
Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said the city was experiencing a “renaissance” and that the Games would “transform the economic fortunes” of its waterfront area.
“Our vision for the Games brings together ambitious new sporting facilities on the historic waterfront, with the existing world-class stadia revered by sports fans and athletes across the globe,” he added.
“This combination makes for a bid that I think is very hard for anyone to match in terms of ambition, creativity and sustainability and would result in a transformational Games that would make Britain proud.”
In April, the government threw its weight behind a Commonwealth Games bid for 2022 after original host Durban, South Africa pulled out. A UK bid for the event looks certain after being referenced in the Conservative Party manifesto ahead of this month’s General Election.
Birmingham is also preparing to lodge a bid for the Games.
