Don Valley Stadium as the centre-piece of a £147 million construction programme needed to provide the necessary sports and cultural facilities to enable the city to host the 1991 Summer Universiade. Jan Železný threw in the javelin on 29 August 1993 (which was a world record at the time) and infamously nearly hit the TV commentators who were interviewing close to the start/finish line. There were plans to use the stadium in a Sheffield bid for the 2002 Commonwealth Games (which eventually went to Manchester) and also to use it as a potential joint ground for the city's two football teams. In both
Don Valley Stadium conditions but also offered athletes every opportunity of producing peak performances. This record-breaking philosophy has even had a bearing on the angle at which the track was set and its positioning was relative to the prevailing winds and the rise and fall of the sun. The finishing line was positioned at the east end of the stadium which meant that in the afternoon and evening when most meetings are held the sun would always be at the athletes' backs in the finishing straight, as is the prevailing westerly wind. VIP facilities were on a third level while the top-most of