Velodrome honour for golden Hoy

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Hoy clinches his historic third gold medal on the track in Beijing

Scotland's Commonwealth Games velodrome is to be named after triple Olympic cycling gold-medalist Chris Hoy.

The announcement comes as Hoy clinched three golds in Beijing and joined appeals to save an Edinburgh velodrome.

In a video released by campaigners, the Scottish cyclist said he could not have reached the Olympics without local facilities such as Meadowbank Stadium.

Edinburgh City Council plans to demolish the facility and replace it with a "downsized" sports venue.

Meanwhile, Glasgow City Council announced that the new National Velodrome being built for the 2014 Commonwealth Games would be named in Hoy's honour.

Elite sport cannot stand alone without local facilities giving kids the chance to get into the sport Chris Hoy Olympic gold medalist

The National Velodrome, being built next to the National Indoor Sports Arena in the east end of Glasgow, will be the new home for Scottish cycling and will host all of the track cycling events during the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Making his appeal in support of the Meadowbank campaign, Hoy said: "Elite sport cannot stand alone without local facilities giving kids the chance to get into the sport.

"I really hope Edinburgh is going to continue to produce world champion cyclists in the future but we cannot do this without a local facility."

The velodrome being built in Glasgow will initially seat 4,000 people

The 32-year-old beat team-mate Jason Kenny in the sprint.

His comments were made in a webcast video produced by Edinburgh Racers which is fighting to save the 16,000 capacity athletics stadium and sports complex.

Edinburgh City Council said it was committed to building a regional cycling facility in the city but that it would not be at Meadowbank.

A spokesman said: "We have been working very closely with the governing body Scottish Cycling who say that the city needs a regional facility. Our members are committed to creating that."

Praise for Hoy's achievements also included congratulations from First Minister Alex Salmond.

He said: "At this Olympics Chris has truly earned the title of Scotland's greatest Olympian of all time.

"He is a magnificent role model for aspiring young athletes, particularly for those hoping to represent Scotland in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014."

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