Troubles With The Project
In 2007 Cardiff failed in its bid to win a super casino license from the UK government. This was a significant blow to the project as the super casino was intended to be the focal point of the site, acting as a magnate for tourists and providing revenues to fund the village's sporting facilities. The opening of the temporary ice rink for Cardiff Devils was delayed by 2 months, forcing them to play home fixtures in other cities. Furthermore, in July 2008 it was announced by Cardiff Council leader Rodney Berman that there is a £55m funding shortfall for phase 2 of the project, delaying the construction of the new permanent ice arena and "Las Vegas style" water feature.
On the 22 January 2009, Rodney Berman made a further announcement, saying all future projects, including the arena, snow box, bars, restaurants and hotel were on hold until the economic situation improved. This came after developers announced in December 2008 they had scrapped the flagship Bay Pointe high rise apartment scheme,. These funding shortfalls served to underline the flawed nature of the project, being overly dependent on too few developments which were never certain to go ahead, such as the super casino.
In November 2010 it was revealed that Orion Land and Leisure, the private sector company co-developing the village with Cardiff Council, had pulled out of its agreement to develop the site. The reason for the split was not disclosed by either party. In spite of this setback however the council remained committed to the project; in order to kick start progress they invited private companies to submit their own proposals for individual development plots, so long as these fulfil the broad aims of the council in terms of specific sport and leisure provision.This marks a change of direction from the top down approach that was originally envisaged for the project, in which private companies were brought in to build and operate leisure and sports facilities predetermined by the council.
Read more about this topic: Cardiff International Sports Village
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