Scotland is to receive a Commonwealth face-lift for 2014, with the announcement of new arenas and upgrades to many of the old.

The new venues announced include; The National Indoor Sports Arena, which will be built next to Celtic Park primarily to house over 5,000 badminton spectators; The National Velodrome, also next to Celtic park and will be the venue for cycling; The Glasgow Hockey Arena, to built on Glasgow Green; and The National Entertainments Arena, which will hold over 12,500 spectators for the gymnastics and netball and will be the largest indoor arena in the UK.


It has been estimated that it will cost the city £288 million to stage the sporting event, with most of the funding coming from the Scottish Government.

Many existing sites will also receive a Commonwealth makeover such as some modernisation for the Scotstoun Stadium where the table tennis and squash competitors will battle it out for gold, and the Kelvinhall International Sports Arena, which will be the wresling and judo theatre. So far, 15 venues in total have been earmarked for the games, including the Celtic park and Ibrox stadiums.

Steven Purcell, Party Leader at Glasgow City Council: "We've struck gold for Glasgow but the hard work starts from here. This is not about politicians taking glory, or about the sporting world coming to Glasgow on its own. It's about making sure there is a lasting legacy."

(DW/JM)