Manchester in Las Vegas
According to some sources Manchester may soon be home to an enormous Leisure centre that would rival the extravagance of Las Vegas. It would be built in the immediate context of the Manchester City Football Stadium, by none other than Manchester City Football Clubs billionaire owner Sheikh Mansour. Included in the plan, said to be designed by BDP, will be luxurious Hotels, a Theme Park, and not forgetting a Casino.
The idea appears to be somewhat ridiculous for a British city, and seems more suited for the United Arab Emirates or USA, not in an area most famous for it's Victorian Industry. However one only has to look back 2 years to the proposed "Super Casino", that was eventually sacked by the government, to see that this rumour may indeed be true, and with the backing of a mutli-billionaire who has already spent well over £100million on new football players, that building up the area around the stadium is such a large leap of faith in the owner's eyes.
Ancoats Emptiness
The news is fairly disheartening, does Manchester want to become an Americanised city, is it right for one football club owner to spread his influence outside of the grounds and into the local community? Perhaps it will create a solution for the sparse state that Ancoats currently resides in, or will it sit on the landscape as an empty shed, unused and unloved.
All images Copyright of Jack Penford Baker
