World Student Games 1991

[Lickszz 10]

Now at the time of these games there was lots of opposition about whether it was a good idea or not for Sheffield Council to get in so much debt in order to hold these games. Looking back I think it was a good decision as it gave us Sheffield Arena and Don Valley Stadium etc these things are at the heart of Sheffield's more popular developments. I really think it help put us on the map. What does everybody else think?

[cellarboy 10]

Didn't do much for all those poor sods who got kicked out of their homes to make way for the athlete accomodation. At lot of them ended up being relocated into right dives before the refurbished flats were sold to private housing authorities.

 

I lived in Park Hill Flats at the time and I still remember the story about a few of the athletes deciding to visit one of the local pubs and ending up getting their asses kicked. There was a lot of resentment to them in the Park Hill/Hyde Park area.

 

However, I do agree that the Arena and Don Valley Stadium were great things for the city.

[Lickszz 10]

Originally posted by "cellarboy"

 

Didn't do much for all those poor sods who got kicked out of their homes to make way for the athlete accomodation. At lot of them ended up being relocated into right dives before the refurbished flats were sold to private housing authorities.

 

I lived in Park Hill Flats at the time and I still remember the story about a few of the athletes deciding to visit one of the local pubs and ending up getting their asses kicked. There was a lot of resentment to them in the Park Hill/Hyde Park area.

 

However, I do agree that the Arena and Don Valley Stadium were great things for the city.

 

Yes, I kind of forgot about the flats...didn't they paint Hyde Park up and let the students stay in them and then after the games demolish them?

[Chris 10]

Originally posted by "cellarboy"

 

Didn't do much for all those poor sods who got kicked out of their homes to make way for the athlete accomodation. At lot of them ended up being relocated into right dives before the refurbished flats were sold to private housing authorities.

 

I lived in Park Hill Flats at the time and I still remember the story about a few of the athletes deciding to visit one of the local pubs and ending up getting their asses kicked. There was a lot of resentment to them in the Park Hill/Hyde Park area.

 

I knew they'd 'tinkered' with the housing arrangements but didn't realise the original tenents of the places used were treated so badly

 

At the time of the Games the financial problems didn't bother me (such things tend not to be of high concern to a 13-year old) and I enjoyed the games and the atmosphere in the city at the time enormously, despite not being that interested in sport. It was the first time I'd seen any significant development in the city and since then we've had a fairly steady stream of similarly large developments in the city. In principle I approve of this - I'd much rather the city tried to push it's boundaries than let itself stagnate - but am continually disappointed that the developments are under-used and the city's existing attributes are ignored. The WSG facilities are fantastic, but under-used and the tram's benefits will only become fully apparent when they extend it. The Heart of the City project has produced some gems so far, and the council has failed to recognise their value and are going ahead with over-developing that site. I'm sure it wouldn't take much to extend that site to include some of the derelict areas of the city-centre and develop high-rise offices and a hotel on those.

[cellarboy 10]

Originally posted by "Lickszz"

 

Yes, I kind of forgot about the flats...didn't they paint Hyde Park up and let the students stay in them and then after the games demolish them?

 

Nope, they sold the buildings to a private housing authority and (if I remember rightly) wouldn't let families with children back in there. My aunt (who lives there) told me that, and she might have been talking crap!

[Mo 10]

The 'new' sports facilities are underused because of the cost. My family can go to a local pool for a fraction of the cost of visiting Ponds Forge and park for free. I am sure Sheffield people agree with me if the numbers visiting Derbyshire's pools are anything to go by.

 

Building these facilities is only part of the problem...how on earth will a debt ridden city like Sheffield ever manage to maintain them to such a high standard.

I was involved with local politics at the time of the World Student Games (whoever heard of them anyway) and they were nothing but an ego trip for Cllr Peter Price at the time...and a very expensive one at that.

[Chris 10]

Originally posted by "Mo"

 

I was involved with local politics at the time of the World Student Games (whoever heard of them anyway) and they were nothing but an ego trip for Cllr Peter Price at the time...and a very expensive one at that.

 

It'd be nice to be able to say 'look at how other cities do this', but major projects in other cities are often the results of ego trips too. French presidents are the worst at this - look at the Parisian Grand Projets for proof of this.

 

Have to admit, what I meant by 'underused' was that the facilities could be better used for competition purposes, though I admit I'm unsure how many competitions there are out there to use them. It would be a start if the prices were low enough for the general public to make better use of them, though.

[alchresearch 214]

Originally posted by "Mo"

 

The 'new' sports facilities are underused because of the cost. My family can go to a local pool for a fraction of the cost of visiting Ponds Forge and park for free. I am sure Sheffield people agree with me if the numbers visiting Derbyshire's pools are anything to go by.

 

What's the deal with Ponds Forge? Can you actually use the big pool? I first went after it opened and could only go in the pool with the waves, the water slide and that 'river' that went around.

 

If you can't then it's a damn shame they knocked down Sheaf Valley Baths.

 

I'm one of many who go to Derbyshire's pools. The one in Eckington is excellent. A family of four can go for just a fiver and stay in as long as they want!

[cellarboy 10]

You certainly could use the big pool when I used to go to the gym there. It was more a case of sneaking a morning in when they weren't preparing for, in the middle of or cleaning up after an event!

[alchresearch 214]

It's such a shame. We have some world class facillities and they just don't get the use and fall into ruin. The airport is a typical example.

 

Over here in Manchester, all the places built for the Commonwealth games are fully open to all members of the public. The main stadium is to be used by Man. City FC.

[halevan 11]

Couldnt agree more,

Sheffield council have had a lot of stick over the years for building these facilities but they have been proved right once again.

 

At the demise of sheffields manufacturing base, something had to be done to give sheffield a boost and this was a good idea.

 

Everything has changed, this world is not the same anymore and this city had to change accordingly. It is certainly a city on the move now.

[Jess 10]

The problem was one of TV coverage. We were told that these games were the 2nd largest multi sport event in the World, after the Olympics and that TV exeutives would be falling over themselves to buy the rights. As it was the BBC thought the bowls from Eastbourne were more important and coverage was restricted to recorded highlights for half an hour at 11.00pm. Why do I suspect that if the games had been held in London, there might have been wall to wall coverage. Without TV money and ther advertising and sponsorship that goes with it, Sheffield was left to pick up the bill.