Homebush Stadium is turning Blue!

Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre has today announced a major revamp of both Sydney Olympic Park and the Warm Up track.

Athletics NSW released this statement on their website this morning.

“The home of Australia’s and NSW’s track and field, Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre (SOPAC) will be undergoing a significant facelift and will be in prime condition for the prestigious Athletics NSW Junior Championships in 2016.These major upgrades and track replacements will ensure SOPAC maintains it’s standing as a world-class facility and importantly meets the requirements of IAAF to continue to hold international events.

As part of SOPAC’s ongoing infrastructure maintenance and asset management program an audit was conducted in 2014 for both the Competition Arena and Warm Up tracks. The audit found that the Competition Arena track was approaching the end of its life and the Warm Up track was in also need of replacement.

The two phase approach for the Replacement Program is:
Warm Up Track: 1 October 2015 – 31 January 2016
Competition Arena: 18 October 2015 – 31 January 2016

A new colour scheme has also been approved based on the Berlin Olympic Stadium and will include new pole vault pits, in-rail and long jump boards.  The construction timelines for these and the new scoreboards will be advised in due course.

“This investment into the home of Athletics NSW is a great result for the athletics community,” said ANSW President Sean Scanlon.

“Athletics NSW and Athletics Australia have worked very closely with the SOPAC throughout the consultation phase. The new tracks will be a great benefit to our members for both training and competition purposes and will ensure we continue to attract the world’s best athletes to our competitions. In 2016 Athletics NSW will host the Australian Athletics Championships, and the upgrades will also benefit the many events leading into these Australian Championships,” said Scanlon.

In preparation for these developments, Athletics NSW have planned for alternative venues for events that have traditionally been held at SOPAC. These include the NSW State Relays to be held at Blacktown and several rounds of the Treloar Shield will be held at Blacktown, Narrabeen and ES Marks athletics facilities.

With the redevelopment extending into the New Year, the 2016 Club Championships and 2016 Country Championships will also be held at alternative venues.

The Club Championships will be held at The Crest Sporting Complex in Bankstown. The Bankstown Athletics Club has been the successful host of the recent Australian Masters Championships, the Treloar Shield, Bankstown Invitational and the Albie Thomas Night of Miles. The Crest recently underwent its own track resurfacing meaning that athletes will compete on a relatively new surface.

The Country Championships will be held at the Campbelltown Sports Stadium. The Campbelltown Collegiate Athletics Club hosted a successful Country Championships in 2009 and will be hosting the upcoming Little Athletics Relay Championships in November.
“Athletics NSW have always aimed to hold its premier events at SOPAC, and in light of the SOPAC resurface program have moved events to the next best available alternatives,” said ANSW Competition Manager Brent Hayward.

“We are really excited to know that SOPAC will be upgraded to maintain its world class standing. Campbelltown and Bankstown will now have this unique opportunity to showcase their own venues by hosting our first class events during this period,” said Hayward.

Athletics NSW would also like to acknowledge the continued investment made by SOPAC and the NSW Government to ensure the NSW Athletics community can continue to enjoy access to a world class venue in Sydney.”