THE eThekwini Municipality has revealed that funding is being sourced to address the challenges with the Kings Park Athletics track that has led to the stadium losing its licence to host key national athletic events.
In a statement, the municipality confirmed, “eThekwini Municipality confirms that the current condition of the stadium track does not meet Athletics South Africa (ASA) standards for hosting national events.
It stated, “The track lines have faded and cannot be repainted, as the surface requires complete resurfacing. The facility remains in frequent use by schools, athletes, and other stakeholders, recording about 22 bookings per month.
“Due to the high usage, occasional breakages occur in the ablution facilities; however, repairs are prioritised and attended to timeously.
“The City has requested capital funding to refurbish and upgrade the stadium to meet ASA standards. Funding confirmation is still pending. eThekwini Municipality remains committed to maintaining safe, functional, and inclusive sporting facilities for all users,” the City concluded.
The Mercury recently reported on the concerns raised by KwaZulu-Natal Athletics (KZNA) about the future of athletics in the province. KZNA sounded the alarm over the future of athletics in the province, revealing that some stadiums that should be at the forefront of athletics development are no longer licensed to do so because of their poor condition. Among the stadiums are the Kings Park Athletics track, Chatsworth Stadium in Durban, the Msunduzi, Ulundi Stadium, and Richards Bay Stadium.
The organisation expressed concern that athletics is being treated as “the poor cousin” of other sporting codes and is being neglected.
A source in athletics bemoaned the state of the Kings Park athletics stadium, stating, “If you haven’t visited the Kings Park athletics stadium (Durban) recently, please do so for all our sakes. You will find the same level of deterioration (as Harry Gwala) and apathy towards maintenance.
“Most toilets and the change rooms are kept closed so they don’t have to be cleaned. The athletics track is, of course, no longer approved by Athletics South Africa (ASA), so no national championships are allocated to Kings Park,” said the source.
THE MERCURY
