of the main, covered Tyne and Wear stand in 1981 and three accompanying stands; the venue was renamed the Gateshead International Stadium. This first tranche of improvements cost around £8 million, and Foster's proposal to commemorate the re-opening with an athletic event was approved, allowing for the first "Gateshead Games" to be held in 1974. The success of the first Gateshead Games, and their subsequent annual renewal, raised the profile of the stadium and caused Gateshead Council to further their financial investment. During the 1980s, additions were made to the site infrastructure, including the building of an indoor sports hall, outdoor football pitches and a gymnasium. In 1989 the running track was again relayed and Gateshead confirmed its reputation as a top-class athletics venue by hosting the Europa Cup (forerunner to the European Team Championships). In the 21st century, the site has been the subject of two major re-development projects. The first was completed in 2006, when two artificial outdoor football pitches, indoor athletic training facilities, sports science provisions and conferencing rooms were added at a cost of £15 million. The revamped stadium, funded by collaboration between One NorthEast, Sport England and Gateshead College among others, was opened on 12 May 2006 by Sebastian Coe. A second tranche of development, undertaken in two stages, was approved in November 2009. This included a general refurbishment and improvement of the existing facilities at the stadium, adding cover, better toilet and new refreshment facilities to the exposed East Stand, improving wheelchair access, adding extra catering and conferencing facilities and a new media and management centre. This was funded by collaboration between Gateshead Council, local development funds and Gateshead College. The covering of the 4,000-seat East Stand with a new canopy roof was completed in July 2010, immediately prior to Gateshead hosting a Diamond League event. The second stage of the re-development—the building of the corporate and media facilities—commenced on 6 September 2010 and was completed on time in summer 2011. The total cost of the work was estimated to be £7.6 million. A third programme of expansion was initially mooted in 2008. The aim of this programme was to expand the stadium into an all-embracing "sports village", replete with an ice rink, indoor golf course, restaurants and shops. Gateshead Council invited tenders in August 2008 from commercial organisations interested in undertaking the development. A formal draft development brief was compiled and published in