Image: Meis' work includes Los Angeles' new NFL stadium Woods Bagot has announced that sports and entertainment architect Dan Meis has been appointed global director of its new design group, Woods Bagot Sport. In his new role, Meis will expand his Los Angeles, US-based team to incorporate design and technical experts located in New York, US; London, UK; and Sydney, Australia. The new group will continue with Meis' current projects,

A design team has been appointed to work on the construction of a new 60,000-seat national stadium for football and athletics on a 60-hectare (148-acre) site in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Designsport and the Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (LAVA) have been appointed to design the venue in conjunction with Ethiopia-based JDAW Consulting. Construction work is due to start in 2014, with the development also to comprise an athletics track; an aquatic

Image: Squash courts will be among the new facilities A second stage of development work has now commenced at Aston University's Doug Ellis Woodcock Sports Centre in a bid to further enhance the institution's sporting provision. Speller Metcalfe has been awarded the £3.2m contract to complete a final phase of structural works at the Grade II-listed building, as well as to build a new facility linked to the centre. The

Image: The roof will boast a 'sports landscape' Chinese design practice Bin Lu Architecture (BLUA) has completed work on a new urban concept masterplan for the development of a new sports complex in west Hangzhou. Plans for the 72,700sq m (782,536sq ft) Hangzhou Civic Sports Center scheme have been drawn up on behalf of Hangzhou Sports Development Group. The development - inspired by the Olympic flame - has also involved

The proposed development of a new multi-million pound sports and entertainment arena near Derby's Pride Park stadium has moved forward. Members of Derby City Council's (DCC) cabinet have approved the appointment of Bowmer and Kirkland as the preferred contractor for the scheme, with Morgan Sindall named as reserve contractor. The Derbyshire-based firm held off competition from four rival bidders for the contract, which included BAM, Galliford Try and Interserve. Designed

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council (RCBC) has moved forward with efforts to offload the site of the town's existing leisure centre at Majuba Road and Lobster Road. It comes as specialist drilling machinery returns to the site of a replacement facility, which is being built as part of a new £31m leisure, business support and community complex. Members of the council's cabinet resolved to proceed with a marketing process detailed

Image: S&P Architects designed the £20m stadium Rotherham United Football Club (RUFC) has returned to its home town in South Yorkshire after a four year absence, with the new £20m New York Stadium hosting its first match. Although the 12,000-seat venue was not at full capacity for a friendly against Barnsley on 21 July, the club confirmed it will be fully complete in time for the start of the 2012-13

Image: Facilities include a 60-station fitness suite Waverley Borough Council (WBC) has announced the opening of a new £6m Godalming Leisure Centre in Surrey, which has been unveiled just over a year after work first started. ISG was responsible for delivering the Pozzoni -designed facility, which is operated by DC Leisure and houses a 60-station gym - 40 of which are cardiovascular equipment. The rest of the first-floor fitness suite

Image: A 25m pool is among the centre's facilities The £8m Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Leisure Centre is set to open in at De Montfort University in Leicester later today (30 July). Facilities include a 25m, six-lane swimming pool; a poolside sauna; an eight-court sports hall; a dance studio; a climbing wall; and a café. There will also be a 485sq m (5,220sq ft) fitness suite containing more than

Image: The current national stadium opened in 1958 Japan Sport Council (JSC) has announced the launch of an international design competition for a new national stadium - a project on a "scale unprecedented this century". The organisation's president Ichiro Kono said the new venue - scheduled for completion in 2018 - will be at the heart of the 2020 Olympic Games if Japan is selected to host the event. It

Image: Arturus are behind the stadium's design Bristol Rovers Football Club (BRFC) has been given the green light to proceed with its new stadium development on land next to the University of the West of England's Frenchay campus. The Arturus Architects -designed project was approved by South Gloucestershire Council by 12 votes to one at a Development Control (West) Committee meeting on 19 July. At the centre of the development

Image: OCC said the development is fully funded Oxford City Council (OCC) has announced the development of a new £9.2m swimming pool has been "significantly delayed" as a result of continuing legal challenges. The competition-standard pool will be built at Blackbird Leys Leisure Centre and provide a new replacement for "older and expensive" pools at Temple Cowley and Blackbird Leys. Willmott Dixon has already been chosen to build the FaulknerBrowns

Neath Port Talbot Council (NPTC) has deferred a decision on the multi-million pound Afan Lido development, which will provide a new leisure complex for residents in Aberavon. The former Afan Lido was destroyed by fire in December 2009 and is to be replaced with an expansive new complex designed by Holder Mathias Architects under current plans. A report put before NPTC cabinet members today (25 July) had recommended a new

Trump International Golf Links - the first phase of US tycoon Donald Trump's proposed £750m investment at the Menie Estate, Aberdeenshire - has opened to the public. More than £100m has already been invested in creating the new championship golf course, together with associated facilities such as a 10,000sq m (107,639sq ft) short game area. A 22-acre (9-hectare) driving range, a 3,000sq m (32,291sq ft) putting green also feature as

Image: The Populous-designed Olympic Stadium London's "seemingly simple, yet highly innovative" Olympic Stadium has been named as one of six buildings across the UK shortlisted for the 2012 RIBA Stirling Prize. The stadium - the centrepiece of the Olympic and Paralympic Games starting on Friday (27 July) - was designed by Populous and was completed in March 2011. Among the features of the stadium is that it can be taken

Image: West Bromwich's new £11m leisure complex DC Leisure has been confirmed as Sandwell Council's preferred bidder to design and build a new £11m leisure centre and swimming pool complex in West Bromwich. The facility is currently scheduled to open in early 2014 and will be delivered by DC Leisure in conjunction with Pellikaan Construction. Work is due to begin next year, subject to planning approval. A 25m swimming pool

Image: Worthing's iconic new Splashpoint complex A topping out ceremony has marked the latest milestone in construction of Worthing's new £17.9m leisure complex, which will replace the West Sussex town's Aquarena venue. The Wilkinson Eyre Architects -designed swimming pool - recently named Splashpoint - is to include separate competition pools for diving and swimming when complete. Other facilities will include children's shallow pools, a flume, water features and saunas and

Image: A 25m swimming pool is among the facilities A new £8m leisure complex is to open at Leicester's De Montfort University (DMU) with a two-week period of free taster sessions and tours commencing on 30 July. The facility is to be called The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Leisure Centre following The Queen's visit to DMU on the first stop of the official Diamond Jubilee tour. S&P Architects -

Image: Populous are behind the project's design Chicago Cubs and the City of Mesa have held a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction work on a new baseball stadium and spring training facility in Arizona, US. Populous are behind the plans for the US$99m (EUR81m, £64m) scheme, which was given the unanimous backing of Mesa voters in 2010 and includes a refurbished Riverview Park. The 15,000-seat stadium will

Image: How the proposed new stadium will look Plans for the construction of a new stadium on land next to the University of West England campus at Frenchay, Bristol, have been recommended for approval by the local authority. Bristol Rovers Football Club is working with the university to deliver the Arturus Architects -designed project, which will be discussed by South Gloucestershire Council on 19 July. The scheme is centred around

Image: The £2.9m venue is set to open next month The new £2.9m Parklea Community Sports Facility in Port Glasgow is in line for its official opening next month (August) after the development achieved practical completion. S&P Architects have worked on the scheme - one of five phases in a wider £6.5m project - as lead consultant and designer after being appointed by Inverclyde Council. Barr Construction has also worked

Image: Two 50m swimming pools are proposed A contract has been awarded for the design, build and financing of a new high-performance complex in Toronto, Canada, to be used at the Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games. PCL Aquatics Centre 2012 - incorporating PCL Construction, NORR and Counsilman-Hunsaker - has been appointed by Infrastructure Ontario to lead the project following a procurement process. The complex will house the Aquatics Centre and

Image: Gourock's new-look outdoor swimming pool Inverclyde Council has opened Gourock's 103-year-old outdoor swimming pool, following the completion of an extensive £1.8m refurbishment of the facility. Work included the construction of new changing areas and modern pool facilities, as well as the addition of a glass-fronted gym with 65 pieces of equipment and a functional training area. The new gym features equipment from Pulse Fitness, Anytime Leisure and Star Trac.

Image: How the new-look Westpac Stadium will look The Wellington Regional Stadium Trust has unveiled its new masterplan for the multi-million dollar redevelopment of the New Zealand capital's Westpac Stadium. Populous, the global architectural practice which was involved in the venue's original design, has been involved with drawing up proposals for the new phased scheme. According to the trust, Westpac Stadium faces challenges from Dunedin's new Forsyth Barr Stadium ;

Image: France rugby's current Stade de France home The French Rugby Federation (FFR) has announced plans for a new 82,000-seat stadium to be built on the site of a former racecourse in Ris-Orangis - 25km (16 miles) south of Paris. A FFR steering committee unanimously backed a bid from the City of Ris-Orangis, the town of Evry Essonne Centre and the General Council of Essonne for the project. The proposed

Image: Belfast's Windsor Park is to be redeveloped Hamilton Architects have been appointed by the Irish Football Association (IFA) to lead the integrated consulting team for Northern Ireland's National Stadium Project. The Belfast-based design practice joins Edmond Shipway, Arup, Rider Levett Bucknall and Ben Veenbrink on working on the multi-million pound stadium development. Designs are to be drawn up for an 18,000-capacity venue on the site of the existing national