Less than 1,000 days to the Ryder Cup

There are less than 1,000 days until the 2010 Ryder Cup in Newport.

With more than 100 countries set to receive television coverage, the countdown has truly started for the greatest show in Welsh sporting history.

The biennial match between Europe and the United States will take place on October 1-3 at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport and it will be the first time that Wales has hosted the event.

First Minister Rhodri Morgan said: "The economic and business advantages available to Wales from hosting such a high profile event are already clear.

"There are opportunities for Welsh companies to supply goods and services to the event itself and obvious advantages to those seeking to raise the profile of Wales as a business and tourism destination in the meantime.

"No doubt the focus on Wales will intensify when the handover to Wales is made directly after the 2008 Ryder Cup later this year in Kentucky. Then the whole of the country will get itself ready to welcome the World to Wales in 2010."

The Leader of Newport City Council, Councillor Bob Bright, said: ""In less than three years time we have the opportunity to show off the city to a global audience of billions.

"For Newport’s business and tourism sectors this presents enormous investment opportunities which will shape the city for years to come.

"For the people of Newport the tournament itself is secondary to the legacy it will leave.

"Many of the projects such as the £200 million Friars Walk development would have occurred anyway, but the Ryder Cup has certainly been the catalyst in bringing forward the many developments that we can see taking shape around the city today."

The 2010 Ryder Cup will be played on the recently opened Twenty Ten course at The Celtic Manor Resort, the first course specifically designed to stage a Ryder Cup.

John Jermine, chairman of Ryder Cup Wales, stated: "All of our partners have made excellent progress preparing for 2010 and helping to take the benefits throughout the country.

"Wales is becoming recognised as a world class golfing destination and hosting the Ryder Cup is attracting interest throughout the golfing world.

"The match will be broadcast to more than 100 countries and will give us a unique opportunity to showcase Wales to the world.

"The Ryder Cup will attract many business decision-makers to Wales and we will be offering them a range of opportunities to explore the rest of the country, to enjoy our hospitality and to appreciate that Wales is a great country in which to live and invest."

Dylan Matthews, chief executive of the Celtic Manor Resort, said: "This announcement of 1,000 days to go until the Ryder Cup is played in Wales underlines just how close we already are to this massive sporting event."

The Ryder Cup enjoys a privileged place in the sporting calendar and is regarded as the third most watched sporting event in the world.

A Hothouse of Creativity and Enterprise: the Vision behind University’s New City Centre Campus

15/01/08

A hothouse of creativity, innovation and entrepreneurial activity that will be an essential element of the city’s regeneration – that’s the aim of the vibrant new multi-million pound City Centre Campus being planned by the University of Wales, Newport, which moved a step closer this week with the appointment of a building contractor to prepare the site.

Contractors HBG will be moving onto the site on the banks of the River Usk in Newport city centre to conduct initial site clearing work.

"We are moving towards the development of an entrepreneurial university and the idea of working closely with business and the creative industries is a fundamental concept of the new City Centre Campus," said Chris O’Malley, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Regional and International Development).

"The University’s new City Centre Campus will feature an innovative Hothouse at its core where designers, media specialists, business researchers and entrepreneurs will work together and spark off each other to create new commercial ideas to help drive entrepreneurship and creativity in the regeneration of the city," added Chris.

Commenting on the striking design of the proposed new campus building, designed by architects BDP, Professor Anne Carlisle, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), said, "The Hothouse will stand out in the building’s profile as a distinctive zone, suspended from the ceiling and connected by walkways. It will capitalise on the University’s greatest asset - its people and ideas.

"The building will be physically transparent and open to the city, rather than being enclosed behind high walls. Not only will it be possible to see right through the building, but visitors to Newport will be encouraged to come in and see a wealth of artistic and creative exhibitions that will be constantly on display. The new campus will help to make clear to visitors to our City that Newport is home to a unique university with an international reputation," added Professor Carlisle.

The new campus will house Newport Business School and the design, film and digital media aspects of the Newport School of Art, Media and Design. Newport’s Business School recently came top in the UK for its level of student satisfaction and the Newport School of Art, Media and Design benefits from an international reputation for its innovative courses and research.

The Chief Executive of Newport Unlimited, John Burrows, commented, "The new city centre campus for the University of Wales, Newport will transform the look and feel of Newport’s city centre. It will bring excitement, activity and a striking new building to Newport’s riverfront. The University’s riverfront development is one of the key projects in transforming the centre of Newport and of regenerating the whole city. The City Centre Campus will contribute an enormous amount to making Newport a real city with the buzz and diversity of activity that the students and staff will bring to the city environment."

The £35m campus, situated on the banks of the River Usk, will be the first phase of an intended £50m development for the University with partnership funding from Newport City Council, the Welsh Assembly Government and Newport Unlimited. The University’s aim is that the new campus will transform the city centre by becoming a magnet for cultural activity along the riverfront and a centre for enterprise that embraces a contemporary arts centre, extensive exhibition space and a national photographic archive.

Tracing its roots back to 1841, the University of Wales, Newport today is a two-campus university. The current Allt-yr-yn Campus will be sold to part-fund the new development in the City Centre, while the other campus at Caerleon will remain. The innovative new campus, which will be completed in 2010 to coincide with the Ryder Cup coming to Newport, will add vibrancy to the city centre and give a vital boost to the local economy.

Newport Unlimited - Urban Regeneration Company