Closing Gateshead Stadium could save leisure centres - union

Gateshead International Stadium is expected to cost just over £900,000 to run this year

Gateshead International Stadium should be considered for closure to help save at-risk leisure centres in the area, a union has urged.

Last month, Gateshead Council warned venues in Saltwell and Dunston could shut due to a funding crisis.

It said existing services had become "unaffordable" but excluded the stadium from its savings review.

However, the GMB has branded the venue a "white elephant" that costs more than the under-threat facilities.

The local authority left the stadium out of its audit of leisure services on the grounds it "has a wider and significantly different offer".

Union chiefs claim it is "draining essential resources from other services in the community".

'Dire financial situation'

GMB officer Julie Wynn told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "The stadium has the lowest footfall for community activity, but it costs the most money to run.

"We don't want to see anything close, we don't want to lose any facilities but you have to look at it with a realistic view.

"We know the council is in a dire financial situation. Weighing everything up in terms of the community use across the borough, we think the stadium should be in the mix [to be closed]."

Gateshead Leisure Centre, in Saltwell, may be closed over budget worries

The stadium, where Gateshead FC play their home matches, had a budget this year of £565,000 but is expected to cost the authority £907,000.

That makes it the most expensive leisure service in the borough, with Gateshead Leisure Centre at Saltwell next on the list at a projected £586,000.

'Heyday over'

The stadium has hosted international athletics competitions as well as concerts by bands such as Bon Jovi and Little Mix, but Ms Wynn said its heyday was "some time ago".

Gateshead Council said while it would not form part of its leisure centres review, the stadium's costs would be looked at separately with the intention the facility was no longer subsidised.

It added: "It was specifically built for international events and their spectators, supporting professional sport and education. 

"It also offers much bigger, and very different, income opportunities. In turn, this means that its potential future management options look very different from the options for operating our other leisure centres."