National Cycling Centre — Attraction in Manchester

From a cycling and sporting point of view - an absolute resource we should genuinely be proud to have in Manchester. So many options for actual sporting development and just having fun on the track in taster sessions.

From a spectator point of view at events - The cycling is fine as you'd expect, the entry is always smooth as butter and I'm yet to come across a staff member who is anything but absolutely lovely. But the overall experience, especially for people who aren't 'into' cycling and are perhaps looking to experience something like UCI national champs, I can't help but think the experience is really lacking. It's often difficult to know what's going on as the sound in there is terrible. There aren't enough options in terms of food and drink, the few bars etc available have very limited choice. There is never enough staff on the bars meaning you can easily be queuing for 15-20 minutes.

But that's a minor concern in terms of the wealth of cycling goodness...

POOR POOR POOR! We went playing badmington and then a BMX session. The whole visit from booking through to the last farewell was a sorryful affair. There is a general mood and air of gloom and lethargy over the complex aswell as the staff and coaches. Its as though they are waiting to be made redundant and feeling that customers are a necessary evil, people who just get in their way, when all they want is to just go home. The BMX session was particularly poor, with coaches who liked the sound of their own voices and displayed the arrogance and poor customer facing skills to go with it. The session also finished unnecessarily early, by 8 minutes on my watch. All in all this place needs new management, staff retraining and a resident clown to try and cheer...

Yet again weather has affected a trip to the indoor national cycling centre. An event completely rained off because despite having just spent 26 million pounds they still have a roof that leaks on the track and risks the safety of riders. No thought yet again given to the financial penalty of paying out petrol for An 80 mile round trip to visit a sight that can't fix a simple leak. No apologies from the staff on site about the failure to deliver a safe and fit for purpose venue. If this is the best we can manage for a national centre of excellence it is a bit of an embarrassment. No one running the centre seems in the slightest bit concerned as this is an ongoing problem that has affected the site since re opening. Quite simply you need...