Hong Kong Velodrome is a
velodrome in
Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong. It has a 250-metre cycling track and spectator facilities for 3,000 people. It opened on 30 December 2013 next to the
Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground.
History
The Hong Kong government agreed to build the velodrome after
Wong Kam-po
Wong Kam-po SBS MH (, born 13 March 1973) is a Hong Kong racing cyclist. A specialist in road bicycle racing, at age 34 he became a track cycling world champion in the scratch race of the 2007 World Championships, which was not his speci ...
won the
gold medal for the men's road race in the
2006 Asian Games
6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number.
In mathematics
Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...
at Doha, amid concerns that athletes who represent Hong Kong had to rely on training facilities in China. Construction of the HK$1.1 billion venue got the legislative go-ahead in January 2010 and work began two months later.
On 5 November 2012, Chief Secretary
Carrie Lam kicked off construction of the Tseung Kwan O Velodrome, as it was then known. The velodrome occupies 6.6 hectares, and cycling helmets inspired its wavy rooftop design. Mrs Lam officiated at the ceremony marking the start of construction.
The velodrome officially opened on 30 December 2013. The inaugural international event, the 2014 Hong Kong International Track Cup (a
UCI UCI most commonly refers to:
* University of California, Irvine, a public university in Irvine, California, United States
* Union Cycliste Internationale, the world governing body for the sport of cycling
UCI may also refer to:
* Uganda Cancer I ...
class-one event), was held 10–12 January 2014.
On 3 March 2014,
Lleyton Hewitt,
Tomas Berdych,
Sam Stosur and
Li Na played in the BNP Paribas Showdown exhibition tennis matches at the Velodrome, all 3,000 tickets were sold out. Li and Stosur were complimentary about the unusual location for a tennis event, which featured ground-level VIP seating on either side and spectator stands at both ends inside the 250-metre cycling track.
On 2 May 2015, the International Cycling Union (UCI) awarded the final leg of its
2015–16 UCI Track Cycling World Cup
The 2015–16 UCI Track Cycling World Cup was a multi-race tournament over a track cycling season. It was the 24th series of the UCI Track Cycling World Cup organised by the UCI. The series ran from 30 October 2015 to 17 January 2016 and consist ...
to Hong Kong, The Cycling Association of Hong Kong hosted a round of the World Cup for the first time on 16–17 January 2016. Racing took place at the Hong Kong Velodrome.
In March 2016, the UCI announced that the Hong Kong Velodrome had been selected as the venue for the
2017 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
The 2017 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were the World Championships for track cycling in 2017. They took place in Hong Kong in the Hong Kong Velodrome from 12 to 16 April 2017. The last time the championships took place in Asia was at the ...
.
Facilities
Velodrome
The velodrome comprises a 250-metre long, 7-metre wide wooden cycling track surrounded by 2,000 fixed seats and 1,000 retractable seats. Supporting facilities include changing rooms, a press conference room, drug testing rooms, and a pressroom.
Sports centre
The space within the centre of the cycle track forms a multi-purpose area for basketball, volleyball, badminton, gymnastics and other sports, but the space is closed to the public whenever the cycling track is being used.
The remainder of the public sports centre is located on the ground floor, beneath the cycle track level, comprising a table tennis room, a dance room, a fitness room, activity rooms, and a children's playroom.
Town park
The Hong Kong Velodrome Park is a 5.3-hectare park surrounding the velodrome building. The park includes grassy lawns, a restaurant, artificial lakes, a concrete
skatepark, a jogging track, chess tables, an amphitheatre, and a climbing wall.
References
External links
Town Park, Indoor Velodrome-cum-sports Centre in Area 45, Tseung Kwan OP & T Group.
Town Park, Indoor Velodrome-cum-Sports Centre.Area 45, Tseung Kwan O.
{{Sports venues in Hong Kong
Tseung Kwan O
Indoor arenas in Hong Kong
Sports venues in Hong Kong
Cycle racing in Hong Kong
Velodromes in China
Sports venues completed in 2013