THE 55-metre set that staged some of the country’s top sports stars at this year’s Sports Personality Of The Year awards was created on the outskirts of York.

Tockwith-based theatrical designer Stage One continued its run of high-profile contract wins by securing the order for the construction of the stage at the 2013 BBC awards night, held at the First Direct Arena in Leeds on Sunday.

The stage, which spanned the entire width of the arena, was constructed initially in Tockwith, before the parts were transported in ten wagon loads to Leeds.

With 25 men on site working on the project at any one time, Stage One staff worked around the clock on the installation, with a total construction period of 158 “manpower days”.

Steve Dolan, an account director at Stage One, said: “It has been a great project to work on and a real privilege. We did a complete test build here in our hangars before taking it all over to Leeds. We started the installation on Tuesday morning last week and had to have everything done by Friday ready for camera rehearsals on Saturday.

“There was a great pride among everyone working on the project, and a huge amount of satisfaction to see it live on the night.”

Stage One, which also created last year’s Sports Personality stage, is accustomed to its work being showcased in front of millions after producing the famous cauldron for last year’s London Olympic Games opening ceremony, as well as the Olympic rings which hung from Tower Bridge.

The work for the 2013 Sports Personality awards night came after Innovision won the tender from the BBC to design and create the stage. Rudi Thackray designed the stage after which Innovision enlisted Stage One to build it.

The business, which this year won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise, began as a traditional staging and scenery building company, and has grown to include corporate clients including Coca Cola, BP, British Airways and Dreamworks.

Stage One, which employs more than 90 people, currently has staff stationed in Sochi over the Christmas period, working on projects for next year’s Winter Olympics.