Library Item

Cyclists awaiting the start of a race, Meadowbank Velodrome

2013

Meadowbank Stadium and Sports Centre was opened on May 2nd 1970 by the Duke of Kent. It was built to accommodate the 1970 Commonwealth Games and later played host to the games a second time when they were held in Edinburgh in 1986. With a capacity of 16, 500 the stadium has facilities for athletics, football, basketball, cycling, climbing, boxing and a number of other sports, as well as a sports and community centre open to the public. It was also used as an outdoor concert venue for T on the Fringe between 2005 and 2008 playing host to bands such as My Chemical Romance, Muse, Nine Inch Nails and the Kaiser Chiefs. In recent years there have been plans to close Meadowbank and build smaller, more modern facilities in other parts of the city which have been met with protest from local residents and patrons of the centre. The future of the site remains unclear.