The
King George V Bowl (commonly known as
The Bowl) is a multi-use
stadiumA modern stadium is a place, or venue, for outdoor sports, concerts or other events, consisting of a field or stage partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.-History of the stadium:The word originates from the Greek word...
in
Douglas, Isle of Manright|thumb|250px|Loch Promenade, which runs nearly the entire length of beachfront in Douglasright|thumb|250px|Sea terminal in DouglasDouglas is the capital and largest town of the Isle of Man, with a population of 26,218 people . It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, and a sweeping...
. It is currently used mostly for football matches and serves as the home of the
Isle of Man national football teamThe Isle of Man national football team is the national football team of the Isle of Man and is controlled by the Isle of Man Football Association. The team plays in a yellow and red home kit and an all navy blue away kit....
. The stadium has a capacity of about 3,000.
History
The Bowl is owned by Douglas Borough Council. It is the home of the
Isle of Man Football AssociationThe Isle of Man Football Association is the governing body of football on the Isle of Man. The IoMFA is not a member of either UEFA or FIFA, but is a member of the English Football Association and has the status of a County Football Association, despite the Isle of Man being a Crown dependency, a...
and
Saint Marys F.C.St Marys A.F.C. are a football club from Douglas on the Isle of Man. They compete in the Isle of Man Football League and they wear a yellow and green kit. They play their home games at The Bowl in Douglas.-History:...
who play in the
Isle of Man Football LeagueThe Isle of Man Football League is a football league for clubs on the Isle of Man run by the Isle of Man Football Association. The league does not form part of the English football league system. All clubs on the island are amateur.-Format:...
. They play their home matches at The Bowl but their changing rooms for home matches are at the nearby National Sports Centre. The stadium hosts the Isle of Man Football League's annual cup competitions finals such as the Manx FA Cup, the Charity Shield, Hospital Cup and the Railway Cup, as well as the Isle of Man Tournament, an annual four team football competition between the amateur FA teams of the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. The now defunct annual Isle of Man Steam Packet Football Festival was also held at The Bowl.
The Bowl has also staged pop concerts such as a Toyah Wilcox concert held at the venue in front of an audience of 4,000 on 11 June, 2002 as part of her "Here and Now 2002" Tour and
Status QuoStatus Quo, also known as The Quo or just Quo, are an English rock band whose music is characterized by their distinctive brand of boogie rock....
who played there in the early 1990s.
The stadium is one of the venues for the
2011 Commonwealth Youth GamesThe 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games will be the fourth Commonwealth Youth Games which started in 2000. They will be held on the Isle of Man.The athletics stadium at the National Sports Centre, Douglas will stage the opening ceremony on 8 September, 2011...
which is to be staged on the Isle of Man. It is due to stage the
rugby sevensRugby sevens, also known as seven-a-side and VIIs, is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players, instead of the usual 15, with shorter matches. The game originated in Melrose, Scotland, and the Melrose Sevens is still played annually. The game is popular at all levels,...
.
Redevelopment
In April 2008 Douglas Borough Council confirmed that they were looking to redevelop The Bowl, and that it could become a national stadium for the Isle of Man. The scheme which would see pitch improvements and better spectator facilities which the council hope to have in place in time for the
2011 Commonwealth Youth GamesThe 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games will be the fourth Commonwealth Youth Games which started in 2000. They will be held on the Isle of Man.The athletics stadium at the National Sports Centre, Douglas will stage the opening ceremony on 8 September, 2011...
which will be staged on the island, would see capacity at the stadium rise to 8,000 including 4,000 temporary seats in a covered section as well as the installation of a giant screen. The plan being for the stadium to be used for different sports as well as staging concerts and to be used as a community facility complementing the nearby
National Sports CentreThe National Sports Centre in Douglas Isle of Man is a large multi-sports centre and athletics stadium. The NSC is owned by the Department of Tourism and Leisure of the Isle of Man Government and operated by the Manx Sport & Recreation.-History:The NSC is built on the site of the former Belle Vue...
(NSC), which is owned and run by the
Department of Tourism and LeisureThe Department of Tourism and Leisure is a department of the Isle of Man Government.The current Minister of Tourism and Leisure is Martyn Quayle MHK.-History:The Department was created in 1986 as the Department of Tourism and Transport....
of the
Isle of Man GovernmentThe Isle of Man Government is the government of the Isle of Man. The head of the Isle of Man Government is the Chief Minister.Douglas, the largest town on the Isle of Man is its capital and seat of government, where the Government offices and the parliament chambers are located.The Civil Service...
. The council stated that they would be submitting a report to the Isle of Man Government's
Tourism and Leisure MinisterThe Department of Tourism and Leisure is a department of the Isle of Man Government.The current Minister of Tourism and Leisure is Martyn Quayle MHK.-History:The Department was created in 1986 as the Department of Tourism and Transport....
and possibly the
Council of Ministers of the Isle of ManThe Council of Ministers is similar although not exactly parallel to the United Kingdom Cabinet. Nor is the Council wholly comparable with the Policy and Resources Committee of a United Kingdom Local Authority, with this having no real executive power...
to seek their support and that they hoped to partner with organisations such as the Isle of Man Football Association and the Isle of Man Sports Council, and also with the private sector.
The Council leader, Councillor David Christian said, "The bowl has not had any major investment for a number of years. It will become a national stadium, a national facility but in Corporation ownership. It's an exciting project and we think it's the right place for a national stadium, which will complement the NSC." The Isle of Man Sports Council has pledged to cover the cost of new floodlights at the stadium.
However, after it was announced in August 2008, that building tests were to be made to find out whether the stadium is suitable to convert into a larger venue with bore holes sunk at the venue to check ground conditions
David CretneyManxman David Cretney MHK is currently the Minister of Trade and Industry and a former long serving Tourism and Leisure Minister of the Isle of Man Government. He has been a Member of the House of Keys from 1985 for Douglas South...
the
Member of the House of KeysMember of the House of Keys, or MHK is the title given to a person who has been elected into the House of Keys, the lower house of Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man. The are twenty-four Members of the House of Keys. Elections are held every five years, the last election took place in...
(MHK) for
Douglas SouthDouglas South is a House of Keys constituency in Douglas, Isle of Man. It elects 2 MHKs.-MHKs & Elections:...
and current
Minister of Trade and IndustryThe Department of Trade and Industry is a department of the Isle of Man Government.The current Minister of Trade and Industry is David Cretney MHK.-Previous Ministers of Trade and Industry:*Alex Downie MLC, 2002-2006*David North MHK, 1996-2002...
raised concerns over the cost to ratepayers of drilling boreholes to test whether the ground was suitable for the stadium scheme, although he did confirm that he supported the scheme.
External links