Badminton England - New Headquarters and more planned

[cobalt]

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New £20m Milton Keynes badminton headquarters planned

18 October 2012 Last updated at 06:01 ET
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...herts-19989176

Excerpts:

The National Badminton Centre is set to move to a £20m headquarters and training base at The National Bowl in Milton Keynes.

The sport's governing body, Badminton England, has announced plans to move from its existing facility in the Loughton area of the new town, to a complex of "at least twice the size".

Initial plans include a 16-court badminton hall, a 3,000-seater arena, a fitness club and athlete accommodation.
It is due to open in spring 2015.

...Chief executive Adrian Christy said the move was inspired by the "massive demand" for badminton courts and the desire to recreate tournament conditions in a training environment.

"As a minimum, the National Badminton Centre will double in size," he said.

..."The arena will also allow Milton Keynes to attract major national, European and international sporting events - not just badminton competitions, but several other sporting events that might include volleyball, table tennis, netball and basketball."

[maxout]

New venue for ALL ENGLAND ?

[SolsticeOfLight]

Not that I'm an expert, but 3000 seats seems a bit small for the all-england. It's usually in Birmingham, no? So it hasn't been played in milton keynes before ...

[**KZ**]

i think its for the national team to train...maybe hold smaller tournaments? All England will still be held at wembley

[SolsticeOfLight]

Birmingham hosts the All England, not London.

[Littlejohn]

No maxout, last 2 days at AE have been sell outs for last 3 or 4 years, and thats 7000 seats, so unless attendance drops dramatically I think it will stay at NIA or similar sized venue, mind you English nationals could have a new home