The Venues
The Glasgow bid consisted of a mix of new and refurbished venues, linked by enhanced roads and public transport network, as well as an athlete's village, built specifically for the games and situated adjacent to key venues.
Hampden Park, Scotland's National Football Stadium, would be the main venue for athletics and for the closing ceremony, while Celtic Park would be used for the opening ceremony.
The Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, on the north bank of the River Clyde, would provide several multipurpose arena style venues as well as the planned Scottish National Arena for events such as gymnastics, boxing, wrestling, weightlifting, and judo as well as hosting associated entertainments events for the duration of the games.
Kelvingrove Park, in the city's West End, already has five bowling greens installed for competitive use. A comprehensive upgrade and refurbishment of the park is underway, and the park is also capable of holding events such as triathlon and hockey, although Glasgow Green could be a possible alternative venue for the latter events. Kelvingrove Park is situated close to the SECC and is adjacent to the Kelvin Hall, which could also potentially host several indoor events. Ibrox Stadium is the planned venue for the rugby sevens tournament. The shooting competition will likely take place at another outdoor venue in the city, such as Pollok Park or the military Dechmont ranges in Cambuslang. If rowing was included as an event, it would likely be held at Strathclyde Park, which hosted the 2006 Commonwealth Rowing Championships.
A new Indoor Arena and Velodrome Complex is planned for Parkhead in the East End of the city, the velodrome itself will be opposite Celtic Park, which will be used for the opening ceremony. These venues would be built regardless of the outcome of Glasgow's bid, and would become the headquarters of sportscotland and Scottish Cycling, and could be expected to host events such as netball, squash, badminton and table tennis, as well as track cycling. Adjacent to this, a potential site for an athletes' village has also been identified in Dalmarnock. The village would be purpose-built to house 6,000 athletes and officials in 2,500 residential units and leave a legacy of regeneration in this deprived district of the city. Nearby Tollcross Park Aquatics Centre, which already has one Olympic standard 50 metre swimming pool, would be extensively upgraded, and a second 50 metre pool would be added for the Games' aquatic events.
The Glasgow 2014 Bid Committee issued a list of 17 sports that they planned to host:
- Athletics
- Aquatics (Swimming and Diving)
- Boxing
- Badminton
- Squash
- Weightlifting
- Bowls
- Field hockey
- Rugby sevens (men)
- Netball (women)
- Cycling
- Shooting
- Wrestling
- Judo
- Gymnastics
- Table tennis
- Triathlon
The Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council have agreed to underwrite the costs of staging the Games. This will be on the basis of an 80/20 split, with an estimated 20% split costing the city £288m to stage the event. 80% of the costs will be covered by the Executive with new money committed to the sports and major events budget.
GB£1 billion will be spent on enhancements to the city's transport infrastructure by 2014, including completion of major motorway links, like the M74 and East End Regeneration Route, the Glasgow Airport Rail Link, improved city centre rail links as a result of the Glasgow Crossrail scheme, light rapid transport to key facilities such as the SECC and possible refurbishment and extension of the Glasgow Subway as well as improvements to the River Clyde including new bridges and river-based transport.
Read more about this topic: Glasgow Bid For The 2014 Commonwealth Games