Cheltenham £45m Development Complete
The £45m development at Cheltenham Racecourse has been completed, within budget and ahead of schedule according to The Jockey Club.
The development involved 14 phases, including a crescent walkway, a bridge over the horse walk, a refurbished weighing room, and various outdoor food areas.
Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal will be officially opening the new stand named in her honour, which has a capacity of 7,000.
It has taken 19 months to complete with no interruption to the race programme and, in less than 35 years, £125m has now been spent on facilities at Cheltenham.
As part of the investment phase, The Jockey Club launched the first ever retail bond in British sport, raising nearly £25m towards its £45m total for the development.
Simon Bazalgette, group chief executive of The Jockey Club said: “This is an important day for the future of the home of jump racing and something I hope racing fans and participants alike will enjoy for many years to come.
“It has been a huge operational challenge for the team to deliver what feedback says has been a very good customer experience while racing around the development – headed up by regional head of operations David Mackinnon. They have done a tremendous job and we must also thank all those who came racing with us these past 19 months for their patience and good heart while the team developed this next chapter for the racecourse and the world-class customer experience we want to offer all, to match the calibre of the great horses competing.
“It was really important not to lose any racedays because Cheltenham is so important in the jump racing programme and as every penny of profit we make we put back into the sport we really didn’t want that reinvestment to drop while work was underway.”
