The Chief Minister, the Hon Fabian Picardo QC, inaugurated the Elizabeth II Sports Annex at the Bayside Sports Centre in the presence of His Excellency the Governor Lieutenant General Edward Davis CB, CBE and Minister for Sport Steven Linares, amongst other invited guests.
The Annex is the final stage of the four-stage project at the Bayside Sports Centre undertaken by Sharrock Shand Ltd, and includes:
- Players’ first aid room
- Doping control facility
- Players’ changing rooms, showers, sanitary facilities and physiotherapist treatment area
- Umpires’ changing rooms, showers and sanitary facilities
- Match officials’ office
- Press conference room
- Media centre
- TV studios
- Spectators’ bar facilities
- Spectators’ sanitary facilities
- Spectators’ first aid room
- VIP lounge
- Security/control room
- Four press boxes with power and data points
- TV camera platform
- Additional needs viewing platform
- Dedicated press seating with power and data points
The Annex was originally conceived as a means of bringing the Bayside Sports Centre’s facilities up to a standard to permit specific categories of international football matches to be played. In order to achieve this, the UEFA Stadium Infrastructure Regulations were used as a basis for the design brief. However, the multi-purpose facility will be used by any sporting organisation requiring access to such resources.
Other areas of the project have included the construction of an extension to the Boat House Centre to provide a dedicated single-storey facility for the Stay & Play activities for those with additional needs. Stay & Play was designed with the needs of specific users in mind and followed a period of consultation with some of the agencies who have eventually utilised the facility. The extension incorporates soft wall finishes, adaptive lighting and dedicated sanitary facilities incorporating appropriate equipment. It was handed over in time to be used for the 2015 Summer Sports Stay & Play Programme and proved a very welcome addition to the Bayside Sports Centre. Since then the extension has been used regularly by the Guardian Angel Foundation.
Next was the relocation of existing lecture rooms and cafeteria in the main Administration building; these works have seen the re-location of the existing ground floor lecture rooms to the first floor together with the addition of a boardroom. On the ground floor a basic shell was prepared for use as a cafeteria which was subsequently fitted out by the end user. The facility was opened three weeks ago and is proving to be a welcome asset, as was evident during the recent European Netball Under 17 Championships. The lecture rooms/board room were completed by the end of summer 2015 and since then have been used by the GSLA and other entities.
Finally, eight first floor rooms have been added in the Hockey Stand by inserting mezzanines in the excessive headroom of the changing rooms, to make the best use of the structure. The works included the erection of an external steel walkway/stairs and fitting a lift for all-areas access. Allocation of these to sporting entities will take place shortly.
Energy efficient LED lighting, controlled by occupancy sensors, has been installed in all of the improved areas. The Annex’s main water heating system incorporates heat pumps to minimise energy waste.
All areas of the works have been designed with open access for all and, to facilitate this, lifts have been installed in the Annex and Hockey Stands. One innovation with the lifts is that they incorporate a power backup facility which permits the lifts to continue in operation, for a specific period of time. This will permit those with additional needs to continue to move about the building, if required, during any power outages.
The Chief Minister, the Hon Fabian Picardo QC, said: "I am proud to be officially opening these fantastic facilities, which will be enjoyed for years to come by the entire sporting community. As we celebrate the 90th birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II it is fitting that the Annex carries her name".
