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BuildingsYou are in: Birmingham > Places > Buildings > A new gym gets Brum ready for London 2012 A new gym gets Brum ready for London 2012By BBC WM Reporter, Terry Goodwin It's taken a year to build - and cost people in Birmingham £7.5 million - but it's another sign of how the West Midlands is getting ready for London 2012.  Outside the GMAC The brand new Gymnastics and Martial Arts Centre (GMAC) at Alexander Stadium in Perry Barr has been opened by Britain's first individual gymnastic medal winner for a hundred years.  Preparing for 2012 A world class facilityLouis Smith, who gained a bronze in Beijing, performed a short routine on the pommel horse to celebrate the opening of the world-class facility. He told BBC WM: "Gymnastics isn't as popular as football and rugby, so a team like Sheffield United probably have as much money as the whole of British gymnastics. But building great facilities like this, especially with 2012 coming up, it's looking good.  Inside the new Gymnastics and Martial Arts Centre "There's so much talent out there, so we should be seeing a lot more Olympic medalists."  Getting ready for 2012 at the GMAC Olympic standardThe new centre is up to Olympic standard, and one of the major countries as expected to make it its base in the lead up to the London games. "These facilities are world class," says Birmingham City Council's leader Mike Whitby. "This adds to Birmingham's reputation and gives us more appeal.  Preparing for 2012 at the GMAC "We're already negotiating with China, the USA, Jamaica, India, and most of the Caribbean sides to use Birmingham as a base. We've now got more chance of success." The GMAC centre is on the same site as Birmingham's High Performance Centre, and Alexander Stadium. BBC WM reporter Terry Goodwin was at the opening, listen to his report below.Help playing audio/video last updated: 25/09/2008 at 11:46 You are in: Birmingham > Places > Buildings > A new gym gets Brum ready for London 2012 |
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