UCC athletics track, which closed due to damage, to reopen after repairs
The damaged athletics track at University College Cork (UCC), named after athletics legend Sonia O'Sullivan, is set to be fully repaired almost a year after its sudden closure on health and safety grounds.
UCC has confirmed the track at its Mardyke sports campus will undergo a full resurfacing, with contractors Tony Patterson Sportsgrounds Ltd scheduled to start on site next Monday.
The work will take several months, with no certainty yet on a completion date.
'The timeline for completion will be contingent on weather conditions, both in Cork and abroad given the specialist nature of the works,' a spokesperson said.
'Delays to other projects undertaken by the specialist teams involved may subsequently impact the delivery time of the UCC Sports Athletics Track.'
The track was closed unexpectedly in March 2024 due to 'health and safety' concerns after an urgent inspection by UCC's Building and Estates team identified 'a rapid and significant deterioration' of the track — sections of the track surface were literally peeling away.
The closure of the UCC track came at the same as the city's only other athletics track, at the Munster Technological Institute (MTU) was also out of commission for resurfacing works.
The two closures left several athletics clubs and thousands of athletes without a proper training venue.
MTU's resurfaced track was reopened in July 2024 in time to host the 70th Cork City Sports event.
UCC said the full reinstatement work on its Mardyke track represented a significant investment in the university's sports infrastructure and reflected its ongoing commitment to providing top-tier facilities for students, staff, and the wider community.
The new track will enhance training and competition conditions for athletes of all levels and support the continued growth of athletics at UCC, the spokesperson added.
As the work gets under way, access to the synthetic pitch alongside the track will be restricted and UCC's Department of Sport and Physical Activity has appealed to clubs and individuals using the facilities to follow the signs that will be in place locally in relation to temporary new access points that will be in place for the duration of the work.
The spokesperson said queries from clubs and individual athletes about club athletic track bookings or track membership, please contact UCC Sport at sport@ucc.ie.
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