If Sheffield can’t host sports days how can we host the Olympics? Problems to solve to make dream a reality

Kurtis Leyland
By Kurtis Leyland

Sports and Trends Writer

Published 25th Jun 2026, 05:00 GMT

To see the Olympics come to Sheffield would be incredible but there are challenges to overcome

Plans for a possible Northern Olympics bid are in motion - and while it’s very much early days it’s hard not to get excited when you think about the prospect of seeing the next Jessica Ennis-Hill at the heptathlon or the next Ed Clancy when it comes to cycling strutting their stuff on Sheffield soil.

Perhaps we’d even get to see a world record smashed like when Usain Bolt became the fastest man on the planet or when Michael Phelps won eight medals during one Olympic Games back in 2008.

The economic benefits would also be great across the board. Sheffield and the north would get tourists from across the globe, pubs would be full, there’d be lots of events around the city centre - and the next generation of local sports stars would have an added incentive to show the world what they can do.

A bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the North of England in the 2040s is being planned by the governmentplaceholder image
A bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the North of England in the 2040s is being planned by the government | Iconic Media

And then you remember that Sheffield, one of the top 10 largest cities in the UK, doesn’t currently have an athletics track capable of hosting a national competition at junior level or even a sports day at this moment in time.

This has been the case since February when Woodbourn Road was deemed unsuitable for competitions due to problems with shock absorption - which is essentially how much force travels back into an athlete's body during high-impact activities like running, jumping and falling.

For more than two months earlier this year, Woodbourn Road was closed entirely with Sheffield Hallam University, who operate the facility, claiming that they were unable to afford the £1.5m investment needed to meet the standards required to host events.

South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard says there has not been enough investment in many of Sheffield’s athletics and sporting facilitiesplaceholder image
South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard says there has not been enough investment in many of Sheffield’s athletics and sporting facilities | Iconic Media

“Lots of competitions are getting cancelled across Sheffield and it’s all been very limited this summer,” said Tom Grantham, Sheffield schools athletics co-ordinator.

Ennis-Hill’s former coach Toni Minichello added: “I haven’t got the figures for participation, but people are basically being scattered around and it’s turning off a whole group of people .”

Woodbourn Road partially reopened its doors on June 23, with The Star catching some photos of first supervised coaching sessions that have taken place since that decision.

The track on Woodbourn Road has been out of use since April, leaving Sheffield’s next generation of athletes with a real lack of facilities to train and compete in the sport.placeholder image
The track on Woodbourn Road has been out of use since April, leaving Sheffield’s next generation of athletes with a real lack of facilities to train and compete in the sport. | Toni Minichiello

It’s a small step in the right direction, but it’s worth mentioning that the track still cannot be used for athletics competitions, events, or independent training - with children across the Steel City being told that they’ll have to travel to Rotherham to access vital facilities at sports day or city final events.

In an interview with the Star, South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard, who ran an event featuring both politicians and sports stars alike at the Olympic Legacy Park, commented on Woodbourn Road, saying: “Well, there hasn't been enough investment in some of those athletics and sporting facilities.

“That's why Woodburn Road has got the problems that it has. I've been pushing the council and Sheffield Hallam University to sort that problem out and I know they're now onto that, but that's why we want more investment into the north when it comes to our sport facilities.

“We absolutely deserve that investment. We've got some brilliant sports people who have come from South Yorkshire and the whole of the North. We want to power that next generation of talent and the Olympic and Paralympic Games would be a brilliant way of doing it.”

Jessica Ennis-Hill placeholder image
Jessica Ennis-Hill

Athletics is one of the most pressing issues that needs to be resolved if Sheffield is to put itself right at the centre of a northern Olympic bid. However, that’s just scratching the surface when it comes to a bid with areas such as football also needing further investment.

How can we be expected to be taken seriously by the athletics community on the global stage when we can’t even get our kids’ sports days on in the city? And is an Olympic bid even the top priority for the city at the moment? Answers on a postcard.

Related topics:SheffieldOlympic GamesSouth YorkshireSheffield Hallam UniversityParalympic Games
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