Maindy Centre ( cy, Canolfan Maendy, formerly known as Maindy Stadium, now also known as Maindy Pool and Cycle Track) is a

velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement ...

and indoor swimming pool facility in the Maindy area of

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. The velodrome was used in the

1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games (Welsh: Gemau Ymerodraeth Prydain a'r Gymanwlad 1958) were held in Cardiff, Wales, from 18–26 July 1958. Thirty-five nations sent a total of 1,130 athletes and 228 officials to the Cardiff Games ...

and the swimming pool was opened in 1993. Maindy Stadium opened in 1951. The stadium has previously had an athletics running track, which was transferred from

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park ( cy, Parc yr Arfau Caerdydd), also known as The Arms Park, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British ...

after the British Empire and Commonwealth Games. It became Cardiff's main athletics stadium until the

Cardiff Athletics Stadium The Cardiff Athletics Stadium (also known as Leckwith Athletics Stadium) was an athletics and football stadium in Cardiff, Wales. It opened in 1989 and was demolished in 2007, replaced by the Cardiff International Sports Stadium. The Card ...

was opened in 1989. The stadium has also been used for

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

and

Welsh baseball Welsh baseball ( cy, Pêl Fas Gymreig), is a bat-and-ball game played in Wales. It is closely related to the game of rounders. In the tradition of bat-and-ball games, baseball has roots going back centuries, and there are references to "b ...

History

The site on which the Maindy Centre stands was gifted by

Lord Bute John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, (; 25 May 1713 – 10 March 1792), styled Lord Mount Stuart between 1713 and 1723, was a British nobleman who served as the 7th Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1762 to 1763 under George III. He was arguabl ...

to the people of Cardiff. In the 1920s, it was a

clay pit A clay pit is a quarry or mine for the extraction of clay, which is generally used for manufacturing pottery, bricks or Portland cement. Quarries where clay is mined to make bricks are sometimes called brick pits. A brickyard or brickworks i ...

that had been filled with water and household refuse and used for swimming, with a number of adults and children drowned in it. The site was filled in and by May 1951 the new Maindy Stadium was opened. The stadium was designed so that events could be used for the requirements of the

Amateur Athletics Association The Amateur Athletic Association of England or AAA (pronounced 'three As') is the oldest national governing body for athletics in the world, having been established on 24 April 1880. Historically it effectively oversaw athletics throughout Brita ...

and the

National Cyclists' Union The National Cyclists' Union (NCU) was an association established in the Guildhall Tavern, London, on 16 February 1878 as the Bicycle Union. Its purpose was to defend cyclists and to organise and regulate bicycle racing in Great Britain. It merged ...

. Boxing matches also took place at Maindy Stadium between May 1935 and July 1963.

Facilities

The outdoor floodlit cycling velodrome was well known for its slight unevenness, caused by subsidence, as the stadium was built on the clay pit. There was a six-lane cinder running track inside the cycle track at one point, but this has since been removed and replaced by a mini football pitches and a road section for traffic safety courses (in the middle of the velodrome. There was also extensive seating and covered area with a judges box in the 1960s, on an area which is now a grass bank behind the back straight of the cycle track. At that time, the finish line on the cycle track was located at the opposite side of the cycle track to its current location. Maindy Swimming Pool

Maindy remains to be used extensively for training and racing and hosts many events such as the Cardiff International Grand Prix. It is used in particular for teaching youngsters to ride. At 460 metres in length and 18 degree bankings, the track is not as steep as the majority of velodromes, and therefore perfect for those new to the sport. The concrete surface is also used for floodlit training sessions during the winter, where

road bicycles The term road bicycle is used to describe bicycles built for traveling at speed on paved roads. Some sources use the term to mean racing bicycle. Other sources specifically exclude racing bicycles from the definition, using the term to mean a ...

are used as opposed to

track bicycle A track bicycle or track bike is a bicycle optimized for racing at a velodrome or outdoor track. Unlike road bicycles, the track bike is a fixed-gear bicycle; thus, it has only a single gear ratio and has neither a freewheel nor brakes. Tires ar ...

s. The cycle track has recently been resurfaced, seeing an end to the characteristic red asphalt surface which covered it for several years, funded by the Eddie Smart memorial fund. The Maindy Flyers Youth Cycling Club is also based at the stadium, and boasts past members such as Geraint Thomas. Riders from the club have gone on to win four of the eight Olympic gold medals won by Welsh sportspeople between 1976 and 2016. The

British National Derny Championships The British National Derny Championships are annual bicycle races held in the United Kingdom. The event was originally run as a motor paced event behind the larger stayer motors, but in 2000 a demonstration championship was run using derny bik ...

were held at the stadium in 2007, local riders and past members of Maindy Flyers, Alex Greenfield and Katie Curtis came second and third respecitvley. Another past members of Maindy Flyers, Matthew Rowe, finished third in the men's championships. Other notable ex-members include

Elinor Barker Elinor Jane Barker (born 7 September 1994) is a Welsh road and track Cycle sport, racing cyclist, who last rode professionally on the road for UCI Women's Team . Representing British Cycling, Great Britain in international competitions, Barker ...

Luke Rowe Luke Rowe (born 10 March 1990) is a Welsh racing cyclist, who rides for UCI WorldTeam . Biography Born in Cardiff, Rowe began racing at a young age, initially riding with his parents on a tandem. He began to enjoy cycling and became a member ...

and Owain Doull. The facility also has a 6-lane length swimming pool, which was opened in 1993, and a 5-a-side pitch,

References

External links

*
Maindy Centre on Citypedia
{{coord, 51, 29, 48.50, N, 3, 11, 24.00, W, display=title Cathays Sports venues in Cardiff Velodromes in Wales Swimming venues in Wales Cycle racing in Wales

History

Facilities

See also

References

External links