Ipswich City … council is to identify properties that could serve as the site of a 400m artificial athletics track. Photo courtesy ANDREW KACIMAIWAI
Ipswich City Council is to start looking at sites for a new artificial 400m athletics track to serve as a training venue for the 2032 Olympics.
At its April ordinary meeting, council unanimously supported a motion from councillor Marnie Doyle for a 400m track to be built in Ipswich.
The councillor says suitable council sites will be identified to council by next month.
Council also intends to campaign for potential state and commonwealth funding to plan, design and build the track — if they decide to go ahead.
“With the 2032 (Olympic) Games approaching and despite venues already locked in, there will still be opportunities to advocate for funding in the coming years,” Cr Doyle says.
She says such a track would allow Ipswich to provide a training venue for athletes at the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic games.
“At a minimum, it will be the training facility for our many local runners who will no doubt be in training to compete at their very first Olympics,” she says.
“What an advantage they will have, to be able to train in the lead up to the 2032 Games, right here in their own back yard.
“We need to be ready to capitalise on these opportunities by having our own tartan track planned and designed for at a council-owned facility.”
She says council “must be the driver” of this project as they “can no longer rely on third parties and other local organisations to deliver”.
Cr Doyle believes a full-size 400m artificial track will complement other infrastructure spending, boost sporting participation and attract athletes from surrounding regions and support local clubs.
She says Ipswich needs a track that is “fit-for-the-runner, fit-for-the-community and fit-for-the-future”.
PROBLEMS AT LIMESTONE PARK
“For almost 45 years, Ipswich sprinters dashed around Bill Paterson Oval at Limestone Park, which is home to the Ipswich and District Athletic Club and Ipswich Little Athletics,” Cr Doyle says.
“As many would remember, the oval was built over a former rubbish tip that closed in 1975. Unfortunately, that history continues to impact the oval, its grass 400m running track and those who use both.
“The running surface is uneven; drainage is poor; the subsurface continues to shift. Urgent maintenance is desperately needed in the short term.”
She says council has to “get back in the game”.
“I’ve been advocating for the tartan track to remain at Limestone Park. It is the home of athletics in Ipswich and has been for almost 50 years.”
An earlier push for a new athletics track at the University of Southern Queensland’s Ipswich Campus failed to leave the starting blocks, according to council.
