Hull City reveal £100m sports village vision

Wed 4th May 2011 | Football Stadiums & Facilities

Hull City’s KC Stadium will be transformed into a £100m sports village owner Assem Allam has revealed.

Speaking to the Hull Daily Mail, Allam revealed his plans to build a complex, which would include a hotel, tennis, squash and gymnastics facilities, an Olympic-size swimming pool and a multi-story car park, around the club's current KC Stadium or on the back of a new 40,000-capacity stadium at Melton.

However, the club’s ambitious plans rest on the Allam buying the KC Stadium from its current owners, Hull City Council.

"I want to do this for the community,” Allam told the paper.

“The idea behind the sports village is that it will become a day out for the whole family. People of all ages will be able to come and play here.”

Allam and his son Ehab, finalised a £40million takeover of Hull last year, and are understood to have hired architects The Miller Partnership to draft two sets of proposals.

The preferred option is to increase the capacity at the KC Stadium to 35,000 and build the sports village around it at a cost of £114million.

The second, the Melton proposal, would cost around £161million and would involve building a new stadium on land east of Brickyard Lane.

In an open letter outlining his vision, Allam said: "Would you build an extension to your home if it was rented? You wouldn't. That's what I'm saying. I need to own the stadium if I'm going to do this.

"I'm not about to move the KC Stadium or convert it into boutiques. Does it matter who owns it?

"There is no financial gain for me. The only thing that would put me off this idea is if people were not interested.

"What do people want? A poor old stadium used every two weeks or a sports village used every single day?"

However, City council leader Carl Minns told the Hull Daily Mail there was still no offer on the table from the Allams to buy the KC Stadium.

"Until there is something, I can't really comment," he said.

"All of this appears to be a negotiating tactic without any direct contact with us.

"I am not going to give an opinion on it but I do believe most Hull City fans would prefer to stay in Hull."

(Pic. Artist Impression of Sports Village)

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