Location of 2012 shooting venue causes consternation
Bisley is out, and Woolwich is not quite in, so a third shooting venue for 2012 Olympics could be on the cards.
That seems to be the situation following an examination by business consultants KPMG on how Olympic costs could be reduced by changing venues.
The consultants looked at four temporary venues affecting equestrianism, basketball, shooting and badminton. After the Olympic Board meeting this week a press release was issued stating that equestrianism and basketball would not be moved, but nothing has been said so far about shooting. And as far as badminton is concerned, I understand negotiations are going on for a move to Wembley.
To return to the much debated issue of shooting, I understand that KPMG has concluded that Bisley is out because it would not save money. The facilities would have to be upgraded, there would be increased costs because of security, a satellite athletes village would have to be built, and it would involve negotiations with some 150 shooting clubs, which use the facilities at the moment.
However, KPMG is still looking at an alternative site to Woolwich in south London, which is not without its problems. The cost there could go up from the original estimate of £20m to £42m. Nothing is being said about the search for an alternative site because I am told of the delicacy of negotiations and commercial sensitivity.
In any event, even the little nugget of information about the KPMG report that has been released so far has come out because of the persistence of London Mayor Boris Johnson.
I understand he told the Olympic Board meeting that the public must be told what the report said. It is also set to be published once certain confidential commercial information is removed from it.
Not surprisingly British Shooting, the elite arm of target shooting, is not amused by what KPMG has done.
Performance director John Leighton-Dyson told me: "If what I have heard is right then this report is vexatious at best and frivolous at worst. The KPMG consultants have had no interface with the governing bodies, indeed their visit to Bisley was clandestine, extremely bizarre.
"Yes, there are issues at Bisley. But they could be solved. The satellite village could be located either at the Royal Holloway College, 11 miles away. Or at Aldershot, eight miles away, both of which will be Olympic centres.
"As for security this a Ministry of Defence site. There is perimeter fencing, also on the south-west margin, the Alexander Barracks.
"The negotiations with the many clubs could be avoided if the right site is chosen at Bisley. Remember Bisley is a 4,000-acre site and an alternative site within the complex has been identified.
"True, Bisley would have to be upgraded to meet Olympic standards. These are higher than for the Commonwealth Games (the shooting for the 2002 Manchester Games was at Bisley) but if what we hear of the revised cost estimates for Woolwich are true it would be cheaper than that.
"It cost about £7.5m to get Bisley ready for the Manchester Games. The estimate to get Bisley ready for the Olympics would be about £25m. We hear Woolwich could now cost £42m. In that case moving to a green-field site in preference to Bisley could hardly be said to be cheaper," added Leighton-Dyson.
A stout defence that reflects the strong feeling in the shooting fraternity that it makes no sense not to have the shooting at Bisley.
When London made its original bid Bisley was the shooting venue. However, that was changed, when after the first cull of potential hosts for the 2012 Games, London came a poor third behind Paris and Madrid. One of the many criticisms of the London bid was it was not compact enough. Move events nearer to London was the IOC advice. So out went Bisley.
Ever since, the shooting fraternity has mounted a vigorous campaign to get Bisley back.
But none of the arguments it has put forward has convinced those in charge of 2012. The KPMG report has merely confirmed the organisers long-held view that Bisley for all its great history and association with British shooting cannot be the place when the best of the shooting world comes to this country in 2012.
I'm 
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~48~RS~)
CommentsSign in
You need to sign in to contribute to this page. If you're new to BBC Blogs, creating your membership is quick and easy.
boring
Complain about this comment
I have a lot to say on this matter. However, I must re-arrange the cutlery in the draw in the kitchen because someone has placed a spoon the wrong way around, so I shall have to return later, if I am not further distracted by paint drying, counting the leaves on a tree or measuring the widths of all my ties and finding the average width.
Complain about this comment
Any chance of a picture of Olympic shooting instead of Dirty Harry?
Complain about this comment
Its one of the Olympic events very few people in this country will take any interest in...
I can see this sport being one with very few spectators.
Complain about this comment
Yet again another non-piece about the Olympics. I'm not sure why Bose is given the title Sports Editor - he only ever reports on football/cricket/olympics. That's it. Nothing else. I can't remember the last time I ever saw or read anything on any other subject. Let's see if he reports one of the biggest ever upsets in international sport - which happened this morning. Somehow I doubt it...
Complain about this comment
Yawn zzzzz
Complain about this comment
Again Mihir, you are worth the License Fee.
I think you should lead BBC Sport.
Moving on to your blog, you are right to point this out.
How about moving the Shooting venue to the Oval Cricket Ground, Im sure that Surrey wouldnt mind it being used with the Cricket season ending around the same time as the Olympics are being held.
It would be cheap, easy to set up and if Surrey are worried about any structural damage, then it can happenj away from the main Vauxhall Stand.
Failing that, how about Wimbledon?
Complain about this comment
Unfortunately this article is inaccurate in that it indicates that KPMG have evaluated Bisley and rejected it on the basis of cost.
The truth of the matter is that KPMG have either chosen to or have been directed not to communicate with the shooting organisations.
As a result Bisley has not been evaluated on the basis of current proposals to develop the site. Bisley has been working with a professional development team for the last 2 years in preparation to become an Olympic Training Venue. This demands that we build a hotel, self catering accommodation, leisure centre, etc. to meet athletes high expectations.
On hearing of the appointment of KPMG we had indicated to us that we would be considered against Woolwich on the basis of feasibility and cost. As a result we surveyed our extensive land holdings and found we could build a stand-alone Olympic facility with all the necessary infrastrucure for less than the then stated budget of £25 million. This is still the case.
Bisley has not been involved in any process by KPMG to assess feasibility or cost.
What we can say is that the current plan for Woolwich is not feasible on the basis of safety and it cannot be built to the necessary size to host both the 'Test Event' prior to the Games and the Finals. We can also say that on present budget estimates it is going to be far more expensive than Bisley.
As for looking at another site this is likely to be more money wasted. This ignores the fact that the shooting organisations believe that there is an undertaking between them and LOCOG that should Woolwich prove unsatisfactory Bisley would be the reserve site.
The losers in all this of course are going to be the tax payers because they are not going to be offered the most cost efficent option. £20 million here or there seems to be insignificant even in these difficult times.
All the shooting organisations at Bisley ask is that they are involved in the process so there is a fair assessment of Bisley versus Woolwich in the interests of the wider public.
Glynn Alger
Secretary General of the National Rifle Association
Complain about this comment
Wirepride, Bose writes non articles on all the subjects. He doesn't give opinions or any hard facts just hearsay. Read articles from other people that do blogs and you will also get a reply.
Seems like Bose should have talked to people at Bisley just like the response from #8.
Complain about this comment
So it turns out that claims in this blog can be filed with the ones made about Everton being sold a few weeks ago, under the heading 'inaccurate and not backed up with any evidence whatsoever'. Excellent.
Complain about this comment
The comments made here about the quality of KPMG consultancy are extremely damaging. They merit full investigation and a witholding of fees IF the job has been done unprofessionally and prejudicially with a pre-determined outcome in mind.
There is no basis for wasting public money to justify a pre-determined outcome and writing a scurrilous report. You just say: 'That's what we are doing, and that's that.'
The sooner Government grasps that basic concept about what consultancy is about, the better.
Complain about this comment
If they want legacy, then send the shooting to Bisley. Come on LOCOG - make up your mind over what you want.
Complain about this comment
This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
There's far too much consultancy.
The people who will watch the shooting will be those who compete in it, ask them where they want the competition to take place.
Bisley seems an obvious choice; the KPMG report seems like an attempt to appease the IOC's wishes. Hopefully common sense will prevail.
Complain about this comment
Since the move to Bisley in 1890, every competitor, of any shooting discipline, from around the globe, has wanted to shoot at Bisley. Bisley is the most famous world renowned shooting location. Come on London Olympics, Bisley is the obvious venue. Let common sense prevail and save the country some money at the same time.
BISLEY
Complain about this comment
View these comments in RSS