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Don Valley Stadium Closure


RichardB

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don't think we have finished paying for it yet

No, I don't think we have finished paying for the 1991 World Student Games yet.

..and if my great, great grandchildren still live in Sheffield in 100 years time, - they may just finish up paying the last few instalments on it!! :angry:

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It really shouldn't have been built in the first place...especially with the stand facing the prevailing winds as all rugby supporters know only too well! For years, Sheffield was almost unique in not having an athletics track ( Hillsboro Park apart) and then , in the space of a few years, it had two.If it had been run as a commercial company the directors would have been sacked but SiV is another "arms length" organisation and apparantly suffers from the dead-hand of SCC and its moribund policies!

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No, I don't think we have finished paying for the 1991 World Student Games yet.

..and if my great, great grandchildren still live in Sheffield in 100 years time, - they may just finish up paying the last few instalments on it!! :angry:

The Council will tell you that the games were paid for many years ago. It's the stadium etc that aren't paid for, a nice distinction they use to salve their consciences. What I don't understand is how can you demolish something you're using as collateral on a loan? Or will whatever they build in its place be hocked instead from day one?

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The Council will tell you that the games were paid for many years ago.

Well, if a Coucillor says that it must be true. After all their honesty and judgement is beyond dipute! <_<

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The Council will tell you that the games were paid for many years ago. It's the stadium etc that aren't paid for, a nice distinction they use to salve their consciences. What I don't understand is how can you demolish something you're using as collateral on a loan? Or will whatever they build in its place be hocked instead from day one?

Thats typical political spin saying the games have been paid for its just the stadium etc that are not, where else would the costs incur

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Thats typical political spin saying the games have been paid for its just the stadium etc that are not, where else would the costs incur

Correct Stuart!

By saying that "the games are paid for" they mean the immediate costs of putting the games on, - Staff wages, tickets, advertising etc.

Of course that is TRUE, these costs have long since been met.

However, paying for the hardware, stadium etc. have not been met, - that's what me and you are still paying for!

The Councillors didn't lie, - they were just economical with the truth! <_<

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According to the BBC News website, the Don Valley Stadium cost £29 million to build.

The 25,000-seat stadium was built as the centrepiece of a £147m scheme when Sheffield hosted the 1991 World Student Games.

Labour councillors of the time were criticised for landing the city with hundreds of millions of pounds of debt that is still being paid off at about £25m a year and will not be cleared until 2024.

The World Student Games which took place in Sheffield 20 years ago ran up an overall debt of £658m.

Sheffield Council, which funded the 1991 games, has revealed it will continue to repay £25m a year until the debt is paid off in 2024 despite having to make savings of £80m this year.

Following a request by the BBC, the council released figures stating that the cost of building the facilities totalled £147m and a further £21.4m was spent on staging the games.

It said £297m has been repaid, however the final amount will not be fully repaid until April 2024.

A building which was commissioned for the World Student Games includes Waltheof Sports Hall, which was demolished in 2006. [Remember this one?]

The council said it spent £1.25m on the build but claims it was in need of substantial investment after 15 years of heavy useage.

This is the real reason as to why Sheffield is in such an awful mess. No other, despite the usual blaming of anyone and everyone, but themselves.

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According to the BBC News website, the Don Valley Stadium cost £29 million to build.

A building which was commissioned for the World Student Games includes Waltheof Sports Hall, which was demolished in 2006. [Remember this one?]

The council said it spent £1.25m on the build but claims it was in need of substantial investment after 15 years of heavy useage.

As opposed to the stadium which needs a fortune spending on it after years of under-use.

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Paid by 2024 then.

OK, so I'll be paying it out of my pension.

My kids, who are too young to remember the games but were alive at the time, would be paying for them for half their working lives, had they not all moved away from Sheffield to areas with more sensible council spending policies.

My grandkids, all of which were born after the games would still be expected to pay towards them when they start work if they lived in Sheffield, 2 of them would be in that situation due to their age.

Oh well, at least after 2024 I will be able to look forward to a big reduction in my council tax bill once the debt is paid off!

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I do not want to make this a political debate, as I do not believe that this excellent website is the right and proper forum for such partisan discussions, but I do believe that this subject does put some of our extensively debated topics, such as library closures - restrictions, demolition of Jessop's Hospital, funding for museums and such, very much into their true context.

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I do not want to make this a political debate, as I do not believe that this excellent website is the right and proper forum for such partisan discussions, but I do believe that this subject does put some of our extensively debated topics, such as library closures - restrictions, demolition of Jessop's Hospital, funding for museums and such, very much into their true context.

None of us want this to be a political debate because as you say this forum is not the place for it. If we wanted a political debate on what happens in Sheffield we would all be standing for council in the next local elections and after that, possibly debating it properly in the Town Hall.

However, the fact that we do discuss such issues on this forum shows how much some of us care about the City, the issues you mention and its future.

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You could call topics like this 'political' with a small 'p', and frankly that can apply to a wide range of subjects. It only warrants a large 'P' when specific parties or politicians are criticised. I think there's a distinction to be made between criticising a decision and criticising those who made it.

As Dave says, it shows we care about our city and its future. Politics with a small 'p' are involved so closely with society you'd rule out whole swathes of topics if you try to rule them out of order. U.R.'s post was simply a statement of facts.

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You could call topics like this 'political' with a small 'p', and frankly that can apply to a wide range of subjects. It only warrants a large 'P' when specific parties or politicians are criticised. I think there's a distinction to be made between criticising a decision and criticising those who made it.

As Dave says, it shows we care about our city and its future. Politics with a small 'p' are involved so closely with society you'd rule out whole swathes of topics if you try to rule them out of order. U.R.'s post was simply a statement of facts.

I agree fully Bayleaf.

Not only was UR's post a statement of facts, he even validates them by quoting his source of information (Opening sentence was "According to the BBC News website, the Don Valley Stadium cost £29 million to build.")

You can't say better than that.

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I care about the City of which I was once very proud to claim as mine. Sadly, actions and decisions, over a whole range of issues, for a number of years have left me with a foul taste in my mouth. Debate in the Town Hall is limited by the change to "Cabinet" decision making and by an unelected Executive whose tentacles have spread to all manner of issues.

Sheffield was described in the late 19th century as "dull but well run". Can we claim that the last part is still true?

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I care about the City of which I was once very proud to claim as mine. Sadly, actions and decisions, over a whole range of issues, for a number of years have left me with a foul taste in my mouth. Debate in the Town Hall is limited by the change to "Cabinet" decision making and by an unelected Executive whose tentacles have spread to all manner of issues.

Sheffield was described in the late 19th century as "dull but well run". Can we claim that the last part is still true?

I think many of us would agree with that Lysander.

Unfortunately, as in most elections, we have to vote for a candidate already chosen by someone else ( a Political party) so we never really get to express how we feel about the decisions which are made.

We are merely voting for "the best of a bad lot"

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A further example perhaps, as to why Sheffield City Council seems unable, or unwilling to continue support for a number of those services and facilities that we cherish.

Taken from the Taxpayers' Alliance website; dated 10-03-2011:-

£3.5 million paid to interim staff and consultants in Sheffield

"As councils look to make savings in their budgets, the use of consultants is one area they should look at first. It has come to my attention that Sheffield City Council is currently spending £3.5 million in this area. Although I accept some outside assistance will be needed on an ad hoc basis, £3.5 million is far too much, especially when you look at what it is being spent on.

In our non-job of the week feature last week, I highlighted how a borough council in London plans to pay an Interim Head of Parking Services £600 a day. It seems Sheffield Council is also willing to pay excessively high rates of pay.

The Sheffield Star last week revealed how the Interim Director of the Customer First Programme didn’t put taxpayers first when they earned £131K for ten months work – the equivalent of £157K a year. The council’s development agency quango, Create Sheffield, paid £116K to an interim chief executive for just nine months work – the equivalent of £154K a year.

The council also paid £80K to a PR firm for an environmental campaign, and £74K to a consultant to advise them on rebuilding secondary schools. Nice work if you can get it although, as usual, hard pressed taxpayers are the ones who have to foot the bill.

I know Sheffield is not an isolated example. There are too many councils who are willing to pay eye-watering pay packets to interim staff, PR firms and consultants while at the same time complaining that the government is cutting grant money paid to them. The leader of Sheffield City Council says he has already cut 30% off the consultants bill, and plans to reduce it by a further £1 million next year. This begs the question: if he can reduce spending by £1million next year, why hasn’t he done so already? Sheffield Council must try harder."

It is not my intention to make this excellent website any sort of forum for active political debate, as I have stated before.

Never the less, I find that I am increasingly dismayed and disheartened by the decisions and the actions taken by those individuals, both, elected and recruited, but who are both, ultimately paid by us to manage and progress the affairs of this great city for the benefit of us all.

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