Type:

Synthetic, 400m, 8 lanes, 8 lane straight

Authority:

Bromley

Ceremonial County:

Greater London

NUTS Name:

London (CP)

OS National Grid Reference: TQ 344707
National Grid Reference: 534400, 170700

Train:

Crystal Palace, Penge West, Penge East

Opening Times:

Mon-Thu 0700-2130, Fri 0700-2100, Sat-Sun 0900-1700

Is track locked/unavailable for casual use at other times:

Yes

Charges:

Peak Adult £3.45, Junior £2.10. Off Peak (before 1700 weekdays and after 1300 weekends) Adult £2.35, Junior £1.20.

Field Event Facilities:

Full - 1 HJ, 2 PV (1L-CE), 2 LJ (1L-DE), 2 TJ (1L-DE), 1 SP, 2 DT/HT (2 1C-INT), 2 JT. There is also 1 other DT with no cage internal to the track and an external throws training area with 3 SP, 1 DT/HT (2C-EXT), 1 JT.

S/C Water Jump:

Inside track, height fixed

Changing:

Full in adjacent Sports Centre

Floodlights:

Yes. Full ones turned on Tue & Thu, other days just home straight but enough light for running

Seating:

16000 total , 9500 covered. There are covered grandstands on the home and back straights and uncovered terracing on the first bend). The capacity can be increased to 22000 if required.

Track Certification:

Full - valid until 31st Jul 2014

Clubs:

Blackheath & Bromley Harriers AC, Crystal Palace Triathletes, South London Harriers

Other Info:

The track was built on land which was formerly occupied by the football stadium which was built in 1894/5 and which staged a few early FA Cup Finals. The track was originally 440y cinder and opened in May 1964 - the same year as the whole National Sports Centre complex. It was upgraded to a 3M 'Tartan' synthetic track with an opening date of 19th May 1968 and was the first full track of this type not just in the UK but in the whole of Europe and also the first 400m track to be built in the UK. It was resurfaced in 1993 with Polytan PUR and all the runways were coloured blue. The stadium underwent a £1.5 million upgrade in 2004 with the track and base mat being completely renewed again with Polytan. The track opened again on 20th Jul 2004. There is also an indoor straight next to the track and an external throwing area although this is not suitable for competition as the landing area is uphill and is apparently rarely used. Crystal Palace has traditionally been the home of British Athletics and after a few years break from staging top-class meets, the British Grand Prix returned here in 1999.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s there were a succession of running tracks at Crystal Palace but in slightly different locations to the present one. Details of these ones are in the Crystal Palace entry in the old tracks section. A speedway track around the FA Cup Final ground was opened on 19th May 1928 but it is not thought that this track was ever used for athletics.

Last update: 23/03/2010