PLANS for a £30 million sporting arena next to the Commonwealth Games Stadium are being discussed - to provide a home for the World Athletics Championships.

It is understood that government officials have approached Manchester and several other UK cities to draw up proposals for the 2005 event.

The move comes as speculation grows that a planned London venue for the championships will not be built. If the championships are not held in London, other cities around the world will be invited to bid.

City council leaders in Manchester are considering several options, which would allow them to bid for the event.

A major problem is that the Commonwealth Games stadium in East Manchester is due to have its running track torn up to increase its spectator capacity from 38,000 to 48,000 in time for Manchester City Football Club to move into the arena in 2003.

Options

One option would be for City to remain at Maine Road until 2005, or for the team to play at the stadium with the athletics track still in place - but this would reduce the capacity of the arena.

City are reluctant to consider these proposals and would require huge financial compensation before they would agree. Top-level talks have already taken place between the council and the club.

The option which would overcome this obstacle would be to build a new athletics stadium.

An eight-lane outdoor warm-up track for athletes is already being built at the Sportcity site - which is next to the Commonwealth Games stadium - but this could be transformed into a new, 20,000-seater arena.

A spokesman for the city council said today: ''We, alongside other parties, are involved in discussions about the World Athletic Championships in 2005 - and those discussions are continuing.''

World championships

The World Athletics Championships were due to be held at the rebuilt Wembley Stadium in London, but when it was revealed the project would not include an athletics track, an £87 million stadium was proposed for Pickett's Lock in the north of the capital.

But now Patrick Carter, a businessman commissioned by the government to examine the project, is expected to report that London's Pickett's Lock scheme will not be viable.

Minister for Sport Richard Caborn has also voiced misgivings about the scheme.

Sportcity in Manchester is currently being constructed next to the Commonwealth Games stadium and will be home to the English Institute of Sport and an indoor tennis centre.

The English Institute of Sport will have an indoor athletics hall, an eight-lane outdoor athletics track, a stand to accommodate 500 spectators and facilities for sports science and medicine.

The other building will be home to a national squash centre, an indoor tennis centre and will also have table tennis facilities.

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