Track facelift for Arena Birmingham
The indoor track at Arena Birmingham is set to be replaced to the tune of £1.2 million.
It is almost 30 years since the original track was installed and during that time it has staged events like the 2003 and 2018 world indoor championships and 2007 European Indoor Championships plus countless televised meetings and grassroots events.
The facility, which was formerly known as the National Indoor Arena (NIA) and Barclaycard Arena, has also witnessed many world and national records, the most recent being Samuel Tefera's world indoor 1500m record of 3:31.04 in 2019.
As well as athletics, the stadium has hosted world-class badminton, netball, BMC cycling, judo and trampolining, not to mention television shows such as Gladiators and music concerts and events like the Eurovision Song Concert.
Cllr Ian Ward, Leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “The city of Birmingham is one of the pre-eminent locations globally for indoor and outdoor athletics, having staged two fantastic Indoor World Championships in 2003 and 2018.
“This is a competitive sector of the events market and we need to ensure we can offer international federations and governing bodies the best facilities if they are to continuing coming here.
“We know that competitors and spectators love their time in Birmingham and this investment will ensure there are many more memorable events in the future, supporting the many local businesses in the events and hospitality sectors, which have been devastated by the impact of COVID-19.”
Photography by Mark Shearman
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