Original Commonwealth Games venues back in the spotlight as GC2018 gets underway

The 21st Commonwealth Games are finally here, boasting the largest integrated sports program in its history. Over 6,600 athletes and team officials from 71 nations and territories have converged on the Gold Coast for eleven days of world-class sporting action.

With the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (GC2018) now underway, Minister for Sport, Mick de Brenni, said both the purpose-built Sleeman Sports Complex (SSC) and the Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre (QSAC), which hosted events for the 1982 Commonwealth Games are still in regular use today, more than 35 years later.

Minister de Brenni said:

These two venues were built more than 35 years ago, but they’ve stood the test of time.

 

Nearly a million athletes use these facilities every year, from grassroots sport right through to elite levels.

 

Just imagine the volume of people that will benefit from the infrastructure that’s been delivered through GC2018.

Minister de Brenni said the Sleeman Sports Complex would become a two-time Commonwealth Games venue, with the Anna Meares Velodrome hosting the Track Cycling event from 5 to 8 April. He added:

I had the opportunity to ride around the Velodrome last year, and it’s truly a top class facility. The Velodrome recently hosted the National Championships, as well as the English and Japanese National Team’s Training Camps.

 

The Australian Swimming Team has also been using the Brisbane Aquatic Centre at SSC for their training in the lead up to the Games. Local swimmers Cameron McEvoy, the Campbell sisters and Emily Seebohm will lead a 40-strong Queensland contingent competing for Australia in the pool.

QSAC also hosted local and international athletes ahead of CG2018 on its recently resurfaced State Athletics Facility (SAF) track and Main Track.

Minister de Brenni said the recent upgrades put Queensland ahead of the pack, with QSAC the only facility in Australia which has two 400m ten lane tracks co-located at the one venue:

Queensland athletes punch above their weight, and that’s because we support them with better facilities and better training programs than other states.

 

We’ve delivered A$320m-worth of additional sporting and community infrastructure ahead of the Games, including three new sporting venues, one multipurpose venue, and seven upgraded venues.

 

World class inclusions like the Rekortan track surface we’ve just put down at QSAC give our Queensland athletes the edge, so I have every expectation we’ll see them all perform at a very high level over the next ten days.

Images, courtesy: GC2018

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