Midland Counties Indoor Athletics
The Midland Counties Athletic Association, as the area’s competition provider, is determined to offer our athletes the competition they want, need, and require. However, that does not mean at any price. We comprehensively review the minimal available indoor arena facilities and their financial implications every winter. We then consider the events we would like to schedule, the potential number of entries, and the fees we would need to charge to make a meeting financially viable.
This year, it has taken longer than we would have wished to complete the review. Early in our deliberations, it became apparent that, unfortunately, the increased costs at Loughborough and the restrictive nature of the venue regarding the events we can host means that it is not economically feasible.
With the country’s most impressive indoor athletic facility, the Utilita Arena in Birmingham, at the heart of the area, we always wish to promote a meeting there when the track is laid and available during that limited period. This year, we have worked closely with the Birmingham International Meet promoters to try to make our event possible; however, time has run out when looking at the costs to make it happen. The Track and Field Committee of the Association has taken into account the known financial costs and acknowledged that some are not known at this stage, the time between and the meeting taking place and the activities that need to be undertaken, including the need for entries to be opened, and the agreement of entry fees. If this were a pure decision about athletics, we would go ahead. However, from a business and financial perspective, hosting an indoor meeting at the Utilita Arena is not a viable promotion, so unfortunately, the Midlands will not provide Indoor competition in 2025. These decisions are not easy for us to make as the Association is here to support the athletes by providing competition, and we want to put these meetings on. We cannot and should not put the Association’s future at risk.
We commit to reviewing the position again before the 2025 – 2026 winter season.
Stewart Barnes
Chair
MCAA
