Angle Park Temporary Closure
South Australia’s home of greyhound racing, Angle Park, closed in early April for a period of approximately 4 months to allow for track and infrastructure works.
The project, which will see Angle Park undergo a complete track rebuild and a minor redesign, resulting in all racing at the venue being suspended during this period.
With a large portion of infrastructure from the original construction in 1971 remaining in use, significant degradation of key parts of the lure system, track fencing and concrete plinths has become increasingly evident in recent years.
Additionally, the foundations of the track including the sub-base, base, concrete gutters and drainage are all in need of replacement and modernisation.
Consultation regarding the rebuild and redesign of the track has been undertaken with key stakeholders over the past 18 months, with the Adelaide Greyhound Racing Club (AGRC) playing an elevated role in that process.
Whilst the project is primarily about the renewal of ageing infrastructure, it provides a clear opportunity to subtly redesign the track based on modern principles.
The redevelopment will result in minimal visual change, but will produce in a safer track for racing by implementing established design improvements identified by recent research into this area.
“This project will ultimately deliver a world-class metropolitan track, the equal of any other in the country in terms of safety, fairness and presentation” explains GRSA Chairman, Grantley Stevens.
The most notable change for participants will be the re-positioning of the four existing starts at Angle Park, as summarised below:
• 388m > 342m
• 515m > 530m
• 600m > 595m
• 731m > 730m
Accordingly, the most famous and longstanding national track record of 28.88 sec over the 515m, held by legendary sprinter Brett Lee (dating back to the 2001 Adelaide Cup), remained unsurpassed.
GRSA also intends to undertake a number of unrelated minor projects during the Angle Park shutdown, including:
• Upgrading of the kennel house flooring
• Relocation of the wash bays to outside the kennel house
• Reconfiguration of the judges tower to ensure an optimal race vision camera position
• Installation of a new video board (to replace the existing semaphore board)
“Although we never want to see racing suspended at Angle Park, the cumulative wear on ageing infrastructure cannot be ignored. The Club looks forward to the new and improved track” said AGRC President Petar Jovanovic.
All Angle Park race meetings during the affected period have been transferred to Gawler and Murray Bridge, including the Thursday night Category 1 stakemoney meeting at Angle Park.
A revised weekly schedule of Sky racing follows on from this update, as does a drawing of the new track and revised starting positions.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SCHEDULE
