The new Winchester Sports Stadium will be officially opened on Saturday 2 May as part of a free Bank Holiday weekend event for all the family. The Winchester Sports Festival is a joint event hosted by the University of Winchester and Winchester City Council. It offers a great opportunity to participate in activities and events, try out a wide range of sports, find out about clubs and how to get involved.

 

The Winchester Sports Stadium is a community facility, located at Bar End in the city. It offers an Olympic standard 400m eight-lane athletics track with supporting facilities for field events, an all-weather hockey and general sports pitch, floodlighting and a pavilion. It opened for business in July 2008 and cost £3.5 million.

 

The project was managed by the University of Winchester with support and money from Winchester City Council, Hampshire County Council and Winchester and District Athletic Club. The project also secured grant funding from Sport England and the Norwich Union Community Sports Fund.

 

“The Winchester Sports Stadium is a tremendous facility and its official opening as part of the Winchester Sports Festival is a wonderful way to celebrate this event,” commented Professor Joy Carter, Vice Chancellor of the University of Winchester.

 

Cllr Patricia Stallard, portfolio holder for Culture, Heritage and Sport at Winchester City Council said: “The Festival is a celebration of sport and offers a whole range of fun activities for all the family on May Bank Holiday. The Stadium is open to the wider community and the Festival is a great opportunity for people to explore the facilities on offer and get involved in sport locally.”

 

The Winchester Sports Stadium will be officially opened at 2.30pm by Olympic Team GB Marathon runner, Liz Yelling, with key representatives from the University of Winchester and Winchester City Council and other organisations that helped fund the Stadium, including Sport England, Hampshire County Council and Winchester and District Athletic Club.

 

The Winchester Sports Festival is free and takes place at the Winchester Sports Stadium at Bar End, Winchester (SO23 0QA) from 10am-4pm. A range of food and drink is available throughout the day with parking at the nearby St Catherine’s Park and Ride (SO23 9NP).