Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Manchester Velodrome" in English language version.
Too often we think when things are built they will be a white elephant. "But who would have thought the Velodrome in Manchester would have had the effect it has?"
Twenty years later it is the beating heart of British Cycling's ascension to the top of world cycling and the self-styled 'busiest track in the world'. Multiple world and Olympic champions, a Tour de France winner and world renowned coaching and talent spotting setup can all be traced back to this venue.
The council-owned Velodrome, built with £6.5m of government money and £3m from the Sports Council and Foundation for Sport and the Arts, was Britain's only Olympic-standard indoor track when it opened 18 years ago.
"Manchester is the busiest velodrome in the world," continued King. "It's booked solidly from 8am in the morning until 10pm at night, and its effect on the North West of England has been that there are more cycling clubs, more events and, crucially, more participants than in any other region of England.
Manchester is built in the deprived Eastlands area. The track is always full to capacity, used by many local schools and the kids' club has a waiting list.
Success, therefore, is all the sweeter when a dome breaks the mould and turns out to be a success. This is what has happened at the Manchester Velodrome, one of the centrepiece venues for this summer's Commonwealth Games.
As well as bringing in the finest equipment and the best coaches available, British Cycling based everything on one oval track in Manchester, built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
The development was labelled as the greatest white elephant in Britain by some of the press, but if Manchester velodrome had been a country at the 2012 Olympic games, it would have come seventh in the medal table.
