IS THE FUTURE A GLITTERING ONE FOR THE CRYSTAL PALACE NATIONAL SPORTS CENTRE? OR HAS THE DEATH KNELL ALREADY SOUNDED?
This world-renowned sports centre was first opened in 1964, intended as a replacement for Prince Albert’s fire-destroyed Crystal Palace Exhibition which was lost in 1936. The Crystal Palace NSC was opened with dual aims in mind – providing excellent sports facilities for Londoners and to serve professional sportspeople. It was the first multiuse sports centre designed in the UK, including the Grade II listed sports hall and pool building, plus the 17,000-seat capacity stadium.
A rich sports history has graced this site. Stretching back over a hundred years, it has played host to FA Cup finals, England’s first international game against the All-Blacks and the very best of English cricket. There’s no doubt that this sports centre was once a dynamic venue for competitions and events across several different disciplines. It saw vibrant action from athletesand prided itself on having state of the art facilities. There was a thriving bustle of multi-talented sportspeople bringing life to the NSC, but they have fallen silent and a grey gloom hangs over the once brightly coloured tableau of sport.More than 50 years old, suffering from decades of disinvestment and with the capital’s international athletics and swimming facilities now re-planted in the Olympic Park, what’s going to happen to this once-proud establishment?
Regeneration is proving a tricky path to navigate, and particularly due to its Grade II listed status as an example of modern concrete design. Because of this, the GLA has an obligation to maintain that building to a decent standard. However, this is not so for the athletics track and stadium, nor the outdoor courts or indoor training area. With the resultant leaking roofs, water damage and crumbling concrete around the original stands, it’s being suggested to the public that the cost of repair or refurbishment is simply too high.
As one would expect from a sports centre of this size and calibre, there have been plenty of public consultations going on to try and reconcile its future. The cynics amongst you would ask why the dates for these ‘public’ consultations have been chosen to fall into times when large swathes of potentially interested community members might find it more difficult to attend. John Powell, renowned athlete and chair of the CPSP, said:
“That early events of this new process have been scheduled for summer bank holiday week frankly beggars belief, with all the schools still off and a huge number of people still away……..What worries me immensely though is the absence of appropriate advanced marketing material. With barely a week to the first consultation event, no posters were on display anywhere in, or outside, the centre to advertise this process and the workshops.….That will do nothing to reduce the cynicism among some that this is all little more than lip service, with an agenda already set. At the very least it questions the sincerity of this latest campaign.”
Strong words, from a man very much in the know. And it seems to back up a sorry tale of bad publicity, dis-interested business consultants and a less than motivated approach from outsourced Centre management to engage with the focus groups and drop-in sessions that have been set up to try and shore up this sinking ship. Top name athletes
“The key to the future is a good integrated multi-sport solution, based on an athletics facility that would appeal to many sports and not just track and field”
“We can’t have a stand-alone facility; it’s not a viable business solution. This also has to work alongside an improved management model and a robust marketing strategy for the whole centre, which has been completely absent for many years now.”
spearheading the NSC campaign are undoubtedly a boon. But without proper support from the business hierarchy, efforts to help could well fall on deaf ears.
So, what happens if these public consultations don’t gain the ground that many are hoping for? There must be another option? There are indeed options, the trouble is that very few of them revolve around being solvent. But no worry – enter Chinese billionaire Ni, who has had his sights set on snaring London land for quite some time. Back in 2013, Boris decided that the site should simply be bulldozed and shortly afterwards a plan came to light that Ni and Boris Johnson had been in cahoots for the former to take over no less than half of the public park on a 500 year lease. And during this tenure, which may as well be for all eternity as far as today’s campaigners are concerned, Ni would be able to build whatever he wanted on the land, being completely unanswerable to local government. Happily, that plan came to nothing – but with the likely incipient demise of Crystal Palace NSC, Ni has once again stuck his toe into south London waters. Those waiting with bated breath on the side lines are rightly uneasy.
Is it better, therefore, to accept a diminished version of the NSC? Because it certainly looks like things might be going this way.
There is no longer any intention of staging major international events at Crystal Palace,which neatly and effectively consigns the venue to a training centre. As a direct result, the stands could well be demolished – if that is what those pesky planners in City Hall want to do. And no bookings for events are being taken past March 2020; there’s an indicative decision if ever there was one.
“The key to the future is a good integrated multi-sport solution, based on an athletics facility that would appeal to many sports and not just track and field,” said John Powell. “We can’t have a standalone facility; it’s not a viable business solution. This also has to work alongside an improved management model and a robust marketing strategy for the whole centre, which has been completely absent for many years now.” Possibilities such as getting rid of the indoor athletic training area could be the final straw for Crystal Palace NSC, because even if it remained up and running, it would lose its status of a centre of excellence. Why would professional track and field athletes come to train outside during the dark, cold, winter months? There’s no sensible answer.
And now, what of their competitors? There’s currently nothing south of the river which comes close as a rival, but out towards the suburbs sports facilities are making themselves known. Take the Guildford borough of Shalford, for example. It boasts an expansive piece of land which has impressive facilities; four, full size, football pitches to name but one. It isn’t the existence of Shalford Park which is the problem, it’s the fact that they are offering far superior facilities in their chosen sports, meaning that it will become the go-to place for those interested in the discipline. The NSC has built its reputation on having one of the largest, comprehensive sites in England. But professional sportspeople don’t necessarily want access to a multi-sport site, they want superb quality training areas in their own specialism. So even if the indoor track is allowed to remain standing, without significant upgrade it will not be able to compete with its rivals.
“We can’t have a stand-alone facility; it’s not a viable business solution. This also has to work alongside an improved management model and a robust marketing strategy for the whole centre, which has been completely absent for many years now.