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News
08 March 2006
Institute Of Directors Back NEC
Super Casino
Another
business organisation is urging Birmingham
City Council to
"get off the fence" and back a move to build Britain's first
super
casino at the
National
Exhibition Centre.
The Institute of Directors
in the West Midlands said Birmingham should join with
Solihull Council in submitting a joint bid to the
Government's Casino Advisory Panel.
The IoD is following in
the footsteps of Birmingham
Forward, the
professional services lobby group, which is also backing the
NEC, while Birmingham
Chamber of Commerce and
Industry has
recommended its members to support the NEC casino
option.
Pressure from the business
community, if accepted by the city council, would put paid
to a rival proposal by Birmingham City Football Club for a
£340 million stadium sports village and casino at
Saltley.
IoD regional chairman John
James said Birmingham City Council risked being left too far
behind the competition to catch up.
Mr James said: "Coventry's
ambitious plans for the Ricoh Arena have been in place for
over 12 months as have nearly all the local authorities with
rival bids in the rest of the country. Birmingham simply
cannot postpone making its mind up any longer. Just don't
let the legacy of Birmingham's contribution to the super
casino debate be the words 'our indecision was
final'."
Mr James said the
Birmingham City FC submission was well thought through and
had clear regeneration benefits, but the NEC case was much
stronger in terms of its acceptability to the community,
transport infrastructure, and the economic benefits for the
West Midlands as a whole.
"The income stream to
Birmingham from the NEC super casino will be significant and
there is nothing to prevent Birmingham Council ring-fencing
all or part of the annual income and committing these monies
to specific projects including a new city sports stadium -
indeed they should be encouraged to do so," Mr James
added.
Birmingham City FC
managing director Karren Brady said the views of the
business organisations took no account of public opinion,
which was solidly behind the football club's
proposal.
Ms Brady added:
"Regeneration is the only thing that matters and the
Birmingham sports village wins hands down."
Related pages:
Vital
Talks Over Birmingham Super Casino Plan
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