The Dunc Gray Velodrome is an Australian velodrome located at

Bass Hill Bass Hill, () a suburb of local government area City of Canterbury-Bankstown, is located 23 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and is a part of the South-western Sydney reg ...

approximately 5 kilometres north west of the

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountai ...

suburb of

Bankstown Bankstown is a suburb south west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is located in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, ha ...

. The

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

venue for the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

, the Dunc Gray Velodrome was opened on 28 November 1999 with an opening ceremony which included performances by local talent Darren Sharp and other community groups. The Velodrome is named after

Dunc Gray Edgar Laurence "Dunc" Gray (17 July 190630 August 1996) was an Australian track cyclist and Olympian. Gray was born in Goulburn, New South Wales. He was called 'Dunc', which dates back to school where he was called 'Dunc' and this was later e ...

, the first Australian to win a cycling gold medal at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

in Los Angeles in 1932. At the time of its construction, the

State Government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy ...

owned the velodrome. Bankstown Council managed the velodrome under a sublease. In 1998, the council sublet the velodrome to Bankstown Sports Club, under a 21-year sublease. The council resumed control of the velodrome in 2019.

Construction

Costing $42 million as a

track cycling Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it ...

venue for the

Sydney 2000 Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

, construction of the velodrome, as well as an 800m Criterium Practice Track, commenced in May 1998 and finished in November 1999. It currently has a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 3,150, but was expanded to 5,821 seats to cater for the 2000 Olympics. At 250 metres length, 60 kilometres worth of Baltic Pine (Finland) were used in its composition. The track bends at a maximum angle of 42° degrees, while the straights are at 12.5°. The Safety Track is 5 metres wide and the racing surface is of 7 metres width.

Events

The first major international cycling event ever held was the Oceania International Cycling Grand Prix from 8 to 12 December 1999 – an official pre-Olympic test event. In April 2000 it hosted the 'Bankstown Millennium Buzz' performance in celebrating the Olympics and the millennium year. It hosted six days of track cycling events at the

, as well as Paralympic cycling. In October 2007, The Dunc Gray Velodrome hosted the 2007 UCI Track Cycling Masters World Championships, for riders 30+ years of age. Dunc Gray Veledrom in Bass Hill New South Wales

Dunc Gray Veledrom in Bass Hill New South Wales

References

External links

City of Canterbury-Bankstown page on Dunc Gray Velodrome

''Productivity Commission Inquiry into Australian's Gambling Industry 2008''. Bankstown Sports
Bankstown District Sports Club Ltd {{Architecture of Sydney , state=autocollapse Velodromes in Australia Sports venues in Sydney Venues of the 2000 Summer Olympics City of Canterbury-Bankstown Olympic cycling venues 2000 establishments in Australia Sports venues completed in 2000

Construction

Events

See also

References

External links