Southampton Sports Centre Athletics Track

Southampton

Southampton Sports Centre Athletics Track

Southampton Sports Centre
Thornhill Road
SOUTHAMPTON
SO16 7AY

Telephone: 023 8079 0693
Fax: 023 8078 0821

Email:
Website:

Type: Synthetic, 400m, 8 lanes, 8 lane straight

Authority: Southampton
Ceremonial County: Hampshire

NUTS Name: Southampton

Electronic Map Links:
Multimap 1:10,000 (Street Level)
Multimap 1:25,000 (Area Level)
Multimap 1:50,000 (Area Level)
Multimap 1:100,000 (Road Level)
Multimap 1:200,000 (Road Level)
Streetmap (Street Level)
Streetmap (Area Level)
Streetmap (Road Map)

OS National Grid Reference: SU 410160
National Grid Reference: 441000, 116000

Paper Maps:
A-Z Hampshire 7J 159
A-Z Southampton 5H 21
OS Explorer Map: OL 22
OS/Philip's South Hampshire 78 B2
Red Book Southampton & Eastleigh 23 H4

Train: Swaythling (2M), Southampton Central (3M)

Opening Times: Prior to upgrade opening times were Mon 0900-1800, Tue-Sun 0900-2100. Club times (exclusive) Mon 1800-2100
Is track locked/unavailable for casual use at other times: Yes
Charges: Prior to upgrade charges were Adult £2.00, Junior £1.00

Track Diagram: Click here
Field Event Facilities: Full - 1 HJ, 2 PV (1L-CE), 2 LJ, 2 TJ (2L-ALT), 2 SP, 1 DT/HT (1C-INT), 2 JT
S/C Water Jump: Inside track, height & length adjustable

Changing: Full in building at track
Floodlights: Yes
Seating: 150 (approx) covered

Track Certification: Full - valid until 31st Jul 2005

Clubs: Eastleigh & District Junior AC, Southampton AC, Southampton Institute AC, Southampton RC, Southampton University Athletics & Cross Country Team, Team Southampton

Pictures: Please browse the selection here.

The display of inline maps of track locations is no longer
a free service and so has had to be withdrawn

Please use the Electronic Map links

Sponsorship for www.runtrackdir.com is being sought
Please contact Tim Grose

Click the picture for a larger view
Click here to see the list of pictures for this track.

Click the diagram for a larger view

Other Info:
The Southampton Sports Centre which comprises various sports pitches was originally opened on the 28th May 1938 by the Duke and Duchess of Kent. The track was originally grass with concrete curbs and is thought to have opened at the same time. It was reported to be very well maintained and very fast but sloped quite badly. It was upgraded to an "Avon Polytrak" synthetic track in 1976 with 6 lanes and an 8 lane straight. When the surface was first laid there was apparently such a distinct change of colour that the whole track was sprayed with latex (apparently an almost 100% pure rubber). The first meeting was on 9 Apr 1977 and the official opening meeting on 22 May 1977. The infield still sloped however with the DT/HT sector uphill and the SP and JT downhill. The track was surrounded by a 480m cycle velodrome from at least then. In 1997 the track was partial resurfaced with Polytan WS. Work started in about October 1999 on upgrading the track to 8 lanes all round with facilities capable of hosting a 'major' meeting. The track builders were G Thornton (Contracts) Ltd. The track surface is Polyflex 950-3. To make room for the extra lanes, the cycle track has been removed and the infield is now perfectly level. The track reopened on August 17th 2001 when it staged the finals of the Millennium Youth Games from the 17th to the 20th. The track boasts the UK's first purpose built SC water jump which is adjustable for both height and length for women's races although subsequently the IAAF have decided that water jump pits only need to be adjustable in height for women's races. The barrier which is distinctly coloured blue and yellow is on rails and moves forward to effectively shorten the length of the pit. There are tentative plans to build an 82m indoor straight here.

Last update: 17/08/2000

Please send any amendments to Tim Grose