Calendar Don Valley Stadium News

Government funding cuts left Sheffield City Council with little choice but to close Don Valley stadium, according to one of the city's MPs.

Earlier this month councillors confirmed the twenty five thousand capacity athletics venue where Olympic gold medallist Jess Ennis began her career, will be closed to save cash.

Labour's Paul Blomfield made the claims ahead of a Parliamentary debate tomorrow on the Olympic legacy and spending on sports facilities in the steel city.

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• Paul Bloomfield

So sad to lose Don Valley Stadium! Where it all started for me. Great memories.

From @J_Ennis on Twitter: ( 7:08 pm, Fri 01 Mar 2013)

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• Sheffield
• Don Valley Stadium

Sheffield City Council have voted through their proposal to close Don Valley Stadium. It will close in September.

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• Sheffield
• Don Valley Stadium

Recently, Sheffield City Council said of proposals to close Don Valley Stadium:

These are extraordinarily difficult times and we have said that we will have to look at tough budget options because of the devastating Government cuts to public spending and local government.

We have said all along that we have to consider all options and Don Valley Stadium is one of the bigger options on the table.

I want to make it clear that no decisions have been made and when we are in a position to confirm our spending decisions we will do so.

A decision on the future of the stadium will be made later today.

• Read: Ennis appeals against Don Valley Stadium closure

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• Sheffield
• Jessica Ennis

Sheffield City Council is due to make a decision over the closure of Don Valley stadium today.

The council has said that it faces £50m in cuts as a result of government budget reductions and cannot afford to subsidise the stadium which cost £700,000 per year to run.

Councillors are considering a plan to demolish Don Valley and reopen the nearby Woodbourn athletics stadium.

Olympic gold medallist Jessica Ennis has appealed for the stadium to remain open, saying its closure "would be a huge shame".

Read: Ennis appeals against Don Valley Stadium closure

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• Sheffield
• Jessica Ennis

Jessica Ennis' coach Toni Minichiello has joined the athlete in appealing against the closure of Sheffield's Don Valley stadium.

He told Sky News:

It is an iconic stadium and its a place that has inspired youngsters and none more so than Jessica Ennis.

It is a fantastic facility and it is an incredible shame to lose something like this from the sporting map.

Having taken the youngsters all the way through to Olympic gold you see that this actually can be done in Sheffield.

Why, if you can have one Jessica Ennis, can you not have two or three?

That opportunity all of a sudden looked to be there and now it's going to be taken away from a whole new generation of youngsters."

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• Sheffield
• Jessica Ennis

Olympic champion Jessica Ennis has made a last-ditch appeal to save the stadium where she was discovered as a teenager and still trains.

Councillors are expected to approve the closure of the Don Valley Stadium at a meeting later today.

Ennis said: "I've got some amazing memories, starting my athletic career there and having that iconic stadium in my home city is incredible.

"To lose that would be such a shame for future athletes coming through, so I hope that the right decision's made and we can find a way to keep it."

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• Jessica Ennis
• Don Valley Stadium

Yorkshire 'is not geting the benefits' of the Olympic legacy, one of the region's MPs has claimed.

Speaking in the Commons, Barry Sheerman, who represents Huddersfield, demanded the Government carry out a review.

But Ministers insisted the Games were 'for the whole country'.

• Politics
• Barry Sheerman MP
• Don Valley Stadium

It's been revealed that cash strapped Sheffield City Council is considering closing and demolishing the Don Valley Stadium.

The venue costs the city £700,000 a year to run, but athletic groups say losing Sheffield's only out door track could mean new talent stays undiscovered, as Victoria Whittam reports.

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• Don Valley Stadium