Work has started on a £6.3m development project at Lee Valley White Water Centre in North London as part of legacy plans for the London 2012 Olympic venue. Scheduled to be completed by early 2014, the works on the site will include improving the international competition-standard facilities with the creation of a new gym and physiotherapy suite housed in an extension to the existing centre. For non-competition users, there will

A Minnesota-based construction firm has been selected to build a new $975m (£600m, 750m euro) Vikings stadium by the Minnesota Sports Facility Authority (MSFA). Local contractor Mortenson Construction has built more than 100 sports and entertainment venues and expects the new Minnesota Vikings stadium to be open for the 2016 football season. MSFA, which will own and operate the new stadium, chose Mortenson based on the company's national sports construction

University of San Diego's (USD) ballpark, which is home to Division I baseball team the Toreros, has undergone a US$13.8m (£8.6m, 10.3m euro) renovation. Led by specialist sports architects Populous, the newly renovated Fowler Park will seat 1,700 with the ability to expand to 3,000 for NCAA playoff events. The stadium renovation included the creation of five levels - an entry level with plaza space, a suite and press level,

Olympic stadium designers Populous have been selected to design the new French national stadium of rugby by the French Rugby Federation (FFR). Grand Stade FFR stadium, which is being developed by Paris-based architects Ateliers 2/3/4, will have a capacity of 82,000. Construction work will commence in 2015 with the project expected to be complete by the end of 2017. The FFR expect the venue to host 17-20 events a year,

K2 Crawley leisure centre in West Sussex is set for a £650,000 reconfiguration that will see the centre house a new music and comedy venue. Other plans for K2 include an expansion of the gymnastics hall with a second gymnastics floor space and a new three-tier soft play area. The council's proposed changes would also see the removal of its indoor bowls green. Crawley Borough Council, which held a public

Plans to create a new inland surfing facility on the Isle of Wight have been unveiled by the team behind The Wave: Bristol. Colliers International said that it is in discussions regarding building The Wave:IOW, which would bring together surfing, nature and education. At the centre of the plans is a lake in which water technology would generate waves of up to 1.6m high, at a rate of 120 waves

Five design firms have been shortlisted to develop the proposed US$1bn stadium for the Atlanta Falcons American football team in Atlanta, US. Olympic stadium designers Populous are among the finalist to be chosen by the Georgia World Congress Centre Authority (GWCCA), which owns the site. The other architectural firms include Philadelphia-based EwingCole, Dallas-based HKS, Atlanta-based tvsdesign (in partnership with Heery International and Gensler), and Kansas City-based 360 Architecture. All of

A US county authority has put its support behind proposed bed tax increases and rebates on goods and services taxes to partially fund $400m (296.93m euro, £254.17m) worth of improvements to Miami’s Sun Life Stadium. The Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners heard an upgrade of the 25-year-old stadium would contribute $2bn (1.48bn euro, £1.27bn) in economic benefit over 15 years, and passed a resolution at their 23 January meeting urging

Local Scottish authority Dumfries and Galloway Council will take court action against contractor Kier Northern over a number of problems with the DG One leisure centre, which opened in 2008 at a cost of £17m. A detailed report by independent technical experts found the cost of addressing defects in the gym, games hall, bar, swimming pool and changing village would total £3.7m. At its policy and resources committee meeting on

Construction firm Willmott Dixon are working with South Tyneside Council in the early development stages of a new £11m leisure centre in Hebburn. The new centre is being developed by the council and forms part of a masterplan to regenerate the town centre. The leisure hub will comprise a 25m, six-lane swimming pool as well as a learner pool, sports hall, dance studio, library and customer service facilities. Construction on

US-based football club New York Cosmos has submitted a proposal to the State of New York to build a new stadium, with an estimated cost of US$400m (300.7m euro, £252m). The 25,000-seat Cosmos stadium would be located at Belmont Park, Nassau County, Long Island along with a youth soccer field and a 4.3-acre public park. The privately funded Elmont Town Crossings project will be led by Turner Construction, which provided

The Los Angeles Dodgers have this month announced plans to upgrade their 51-year-old stadium in time for the 2013 season. Improvements will include high definition video boards, Wi-Fi, increased disability access, new food service facilities, a new home clubhouse, new batting cages, and a new sound system that will minimise echoes and sound migration outside the stadium. Dodger president and chief executive Stan Kansten said the stadium would retain its

A new cricket stadium in Rajkot, India is making its international debut today when it hosts a one-day match between India and England. Spread over 29.48 acres, the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, which opened earlier this week, has a total seating capacity of 28,000. The stadium houses three stands, South Pavilion, West Stand and East Stand featuring a health club, media box and president box. A sports complex for other

Essex construction firm Mulalley has been confirmed as the preferred contractor for the new Atherton Leisure Centre, Stratford, UK. Newham Council is investing £14.7m in the centre, which will include swimming pools, a gym, crèche facilities, disabled facilities, and possibly some housing. It will replace the existing leisure centre, which was found to contain significant amounts of asbestos and closed its doors for the last time on 31 December. Construction

The University of Houston (UH) Athletics Department has unveiled plans for its new on-campus stadium, to open for its inaugural game 30 August 2014. The 40,000-seat synthetic turf stadium, with future capacity for 60,000, is set to cost US$105m (79.12m euro, £64.49m) and host events including football games as well as other university events. The plans were unveiled on 19 December by representatives from Manhattan Construction and DLR Group who

Systems engineering company Hightex Group has been selected to work on the Arena des Dunas in Natal, Brazil - one of the venues for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. This is the third contract won by Hightex in partnership with Brazilian infrastructure company SEPA for a stadium for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Hightex and SEPA have won contracts for the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro and for the

Barr construction will begin work on a new £9.5m leisure centre in Witham, Essex in spring 2013. The building contract was awarded by Braintree District Council (BDC) who is funding the Witham Leisure Centre. The centre, designed by Scott Brownrigg Architects, will replace the Bramston Sports Centre and is set to open in summer 2014. Located adjacent Bramston Sports Centre, the new centre will include a six-lane swimming pool and

Major League Soccer (MLS) moves ahead with plans for a US$300m (231m euro, £186m) soccer stadium in Queens, New York. Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens has been selected by MLS as the potential site for the new development. The plans call for a 25,000-seat stadium (expandable to 35,000 seats) to be constructed on the current site of the park's Industry Pond. Depending on when the stadium deal is finalized, league

Designs for a contemporary leisure centre, in Grimsby, were unveiled by North East Lincolnshire Council yesterday. The £8.4m Grimsby Leisure Centre will feature a hi-tech two storey wall of glass to create a shop window for sport. Award winning architects, Faulknerbrowns, have come up with the vision, which includes a 25m competition pool, an easy access learner pool, a 60 station gym, a fitness studio, and sauna. Cllr Mick Burnett,

Plans are underway for a US$350m (£219m, 269m euro) sports complex and destination resort in Vineland, New Jersey, US. Magic Sports – a private company headed by entrepreneur Ron Nametko and developer Sora Northeast Development – have submitted a proposal for the privately funded Magic Sports Complex to the Vineyard zoning board. Plans for the complex include indoor and outdoor facilities for hosting training camps and leagues for competitive tournament

Kirklees Council has appointed BAM Construction as the preferred contractor for the new multi-million pound Huddersfield Sports Centre which will be built on Spring Grove car park in Springwood, Huddersfield. The new facility will replace the existing Southgate sports centre, which is coming to the end of its life and will close once the new centre is up and running. BAM has been successful in meeting stage one of a

A new £7.8m leisure centre is set to open in Gosport in December. The centre will replace the Holbrook recreation Centre on Fareham Road and will be operated by DC Leisure. The development which is been carried out by Wilmott Dixon contractors will feature a swimming pool and learner pool as well as a sauna and steamroom. The centre will also house a sports hall, 70 station health and fitness

Plans are underway to build a £40m community campus in east Manchester. The 16-acre development project is led by Manchester City Council (MCC) and supported by Manchester City Football Club. The Beswick Community Hub Masterplan sets out a blueprint for four key initiatives; a new leisure centre with a swimming pool, Connell Sixth Form College (a 600-place sixth form college for 16- to 19-year-olds); the Manchester Institute of Sports Science

Construction work is set to begin on the £24m multi-use sports arena in Derby. Located near Derby's Pride Park Stadium, the 14,500sq m (156,077sq ft) will feature a 250m indoor cycling track and a 1.5km (0.9-mile) outdoor closed cycle trail. In the centre of the indoor cycling track will be a sports infield accommodating 12 badminton courts and hospitality facilities. The venue will be able to host 5,000 spectators. Designed

A new leisure centre is set to open in Hinckley, Leicestershire by March 2015. The centre will feature a main 25m pool with six lanes and a learner pool. It will also house a sports hall with six badminton courts, a health and fitness facility with 100 stations, two dance studios / multi-purpose rooms, a climbing wall and a health suite. The centre will be located in Argents Mead, which

The Japan Sport Council (JSC) has selected Zaha Hadid Architects to redesign its Kasumigaoka National Stadium. The 80,000-seat stadium will need to be complete in time for the country's staging of the 2019 Rugby World Cup and as part of Tokyo's bid for the 2020 Olympic Games. The London-based architecture firm, which was most recently responsible for the design of the 17,500-capacity London Aquatics Centre, was selected ahead of 11

£16.1m Knowsley Leisure and Culture Park has been officially launched on the former site of the St Thomas Becket School in Huyton, Merseyside. Part of the centre has been open for 12 months but now all facilities are open including the new outdoor velodrome and BMX track. The new facility includes two 25m lane pools, an eight-lane competition pool, six-court sports hall, fitness suite, squash court and dance studios. There