Hambantota to become a sports hub

Sri Lanka’s third international athletic stadium to be built in Hambantota:

DINESH WEERAWANSA in Saint Kitts, West Indies

Sri Lanka’s third international athletic stadium would be built in Hambantota, irrespective of the outcome of the Commonwealth Games Federation vote between the 2018 Games bids by Hambantota and Australia’s Gold Coast which was scheduled to be taken place at 3.30 am Sri Lanka time today.

The government is keen to offer better infrastructure facilities to budding athletes in the provinces and in order to sharpen the skills of rural athletes, the authorities would go ahead with the proposed Hambantota International Athletic Stadium complex project.

It would be built in the close vicinity of the new Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Suriyawewa which was constructed to host the 2011 ICC World Cup tournament matches. Similar to the quick construction process of the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Suriyawewa, the authorities intend to complete the construction of the Hambantota International Athletic Stadium in double quick time.

The construction work of the new Hambantota International Athletic Stadium, which includes a separate 200m warm up track apart from the main 400m competition track, is expected to commence before the middle of next year and would be completed by 2014. It would include all facilities to meet international standards that could be witnessed at any Olympic stadium.

With the construction of Hambantota International Athletic Stadium, the congestion at Sugathadasa Stadium would be eased to a greater extent as there will not be a need for outstation athletes, especially those who are in the Southern and Uva Provinces to come all the way to Colombo for training.

The Colombo-Galle Southern Highway, which is expected to be opened later this month, would be extended to Hambantota by 2015, in order to give better access to country’s most sought-after sports venue. That would not only help the visiting international teams but would also be a big boon to athletes in Galle and Matara districts. The construction of Sri Lanka’s second international airport at Mattala would give faster and convenient access to international teams.

When constructed, the Hambantota International Athletic Stadium will only become the third international track and field venue in Sri Lanka after the Sugathadasa Outdoor Stadium in Colombo and Mahinda Rajapaksa International Sports Stadium Complex in Diyagama, Homagama.

The newest international athletic venue in Sri Lanka would initially host the Asian Athletic Championships, Asian Junior Championships and 2016 South Asian Games.