Don Valley sports college plan revealed by Sheffield City Council

The Don Valley Stadium will be demolished after it closes on 30 September

A dedicated sports and life sciences college could be built on the site of the Don Valley Stadium.

Sheffield City Council has announced it will bid to create a University Technical College (UTC) at the soon-to-be demolished venue.

The stadium will be knocked down in September as part of council efforts to make budget cuts of £50m.

The college would be the city's second UTC. A college dedicated to technical industries is set to open in 2013.

In March former sports minister Richard Caborn revealed plans to redevelop the stadium, where Team GB Olympic gold medallist Jessica Ennis trained, as a £40m "sports and wellbeing park".

'Olympic legacy'

Councillor Jackie Drayton said: "This is an exciting opportunity to create a new, all-age learning campus for the city with a UTC at its heart.

"By specialising in Sports and Life Sciences, the city's second UTC not only allows the young people of Sheffield to benefit from the Olympic legacy but also prepares those who study there for careers in sectors where growth is predicted including sports, health and specialist manufacturing."

The council has now begun the search for a sponsor, as stipulated under government rules, to submit the bid and take responsibility for the governance, leadership and organisation of the UTC.

Once selected, the sponsor will have until September 2013 to enter the bid as part of a national competitive process for applications to be conducted by the Department for Education.

The council has said it will reopen the smaller Woodbourn Road stadium as a new home for athletics in Sheffield.