Club’s new events venue ‘will secure hundreds of jobs’
GLOUCESTER Rugby says their planned multi-use venue will secure hundreds of jobs and help the club to continue to thrive.
The Cherry and Whites were granted a new premises licence by Gloucester City Council earlier this week for the training centre in St Catherines Street.
The proposals were opposed by several residents who are concerned about noise coming from the venue which could be used for concerts, sporting events and conferences.
But Gloucester Rugby says events there will have less impact on residents than those they already run at Kingsholm Stadium.
“At Gloucester Rugby we have always taken our responsibilities as part of the community here very seriously,” a spokesperson said.
“By bringing our training centre into the heart of the city alongside Kingsholm Stadium we have further strengthened our longstanding ties to the city.
“Many fans and visitors to the stadium, for example, have commented how good it is to see the players around the city during the week. Part of the training centre complex was always planned to be an area which can be used for hospitality activities on match days, as well as other events on non-match days.”
The proposed seating capacity is 720 and the club says this makes it a unique venue in the city. They plan to put on a range of events which the whole community can enjoy and benefit from.
The spokesperson added: “The additional revenue that these matchday and other events will generate will not only ensure that Gloucester Rugby continues to thrive, but also that we continue to provide employment for hundreds of people.
“Furthermore, these events will generate more revenue for local businesses such as pubs, shops, taxis and restaurants.
“At Kingsholm Stadium we have a licence which allows us to open until 3am.
“We stage outdoor events such as matches with crowds of over 16,000 people and have in the past held concerts with attendances of 14,000. We have no record of ever receiving a complaint from our neighbours about noise or nuisance when we have run these events, not least because we have always been very conscious of any potential impact and planned accordingly.
“The licence we have just been granted at our training centre complex allows us to open until midnight, except for 12 days a year when we can open until 2am.
“The new facility is indoors, and has less than 5% of the capacity of the stadium.
“We therefore expect events that will be run in the training centre complex to have less impact on local residents than events we already run at Kingsholm Stadium.
“We have already carried out a full consultation process, but if the seven people who objected to the proposal, or anyone else, have any additional comments or questions we would love to hear from them at customerexperience@gloucesterrugby.co.uk. It’s important to us that we are good neighbours.”