Private operator sought for Gateshead International Stadium

Gateshead International Stadium will be offered by Gateshead Council in their attempts to find an outside contractor

Gateshead International Stadium could be taken over by a private operator as its council faces a budget shortfall.

The venue will be offered as Gateshead Council seeks an outside contractor to run the authority's remaining sports centres and swimming pools.

Birtley Swimming Centre and Gateshead Leisure Centre were closed in the summer due to poor financial performance.

The council said the stadium would make a deal "more attractive to the market".

Civic centre bosses have agreed to include the famous venue, which has hosted international athletics events and pop concerts, in a tendering process to find a private operator.

The authority faces a predicted budget shortfall of up to £50m over the next five years, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

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It was already planned to find an external operator for the borough's remaining leisure sites in Blaydon, Heworth, and Dunston to further reduce the financial burden.

The council's Labour cabinet agreed on Tuesday morning to add the Gateshead stadium to that offer.

The council has warned that the venue is in need of £4m of repairs over the next decade and, with operating costs, will cost the council at least £11m to keep open in that time.