File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Aaron Schulze

Hillside Stadium Track Replacement

Track and Field club ‘ecstatic’ after Kamloops council green-lights $2 million Hillside Stadium track upgrade

Feb 11, 2021 | 3:43 PM

KAMLOOPS — A new track at Hillside Stadium is expected to make a clear path for the City of Kamloops to host competitions and encourage running and walking.

On Tuesday (Feb. 9), council approved a proposal to replace the polyurethane track at Hillside Stadium with Mondotrack, a surface that is expected to provide runners with faster times, provide more relief on the body and last longer through all the wear and tear.

The current Hillside Stadium track was built in 2006 and was described to have areas that were starting to lift and show wear and tear.

“It’s not much different than replacing your hot water heater,” Mayor Ken Christian said. “You know that it’s due and you limp it along for a bit. Then you get to a stage where you don’t want to take the risks anymore. [The track] had a 10-year life expectancy. We limped it along to 14 years and now we need a new, state-of-the-art track to be competitive in our bid processes for national events.”

The Kamloops Track and Field club is ecstatic about the upgrade. President Judy Armstrong called it a win-win for the club and the community.

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“We work very hard trying to maintain our own official base here so we don’t always have to ask officials to come out of town, so we can run competitions ourselves,” Armstrong said. “We get lots of volunteers and all of that creates excitement. The community benefits, whether it’s small businesses down the streets, hotels, restaurants, it all adds to the benefit of having something new in town. It’s not only for the club but for the grassroots, older athletes, community and the average Joe that just wants to come out in the morning and do his walk.”

Kamloops hosted the 2006 B.C. Summer Games, 2009 Canadian Masters Championships, 2011 Western Canada Summer Games, 2014 North American, Central American Caribbean Championship, and 2019 B.C. Athletics Track and Field Championships at Hillside Stadium during the current track’s lifespan. The stadium is also expected to host the B.C. Athletics Track and Field Championships again in 2022, which could bring 700 plus athletes to Kamloops.

Along with the tournaments, Armstrong believes the new track will have a spinoff effect for use of the facility and Kamloops Track and Field Club’s registration.

“We are a club. But on the other side of this, we’re out there helping the Zone and District Track and Field meets, and hosting high school and invitational meets. There are a lot of people that are going to benefit from the new track, particularly the grassroots and the high performance athletes,” she said.

The track replacement is projected to cost just under $2.2 million and work is slated to begin in August 2021. The city expects the track renovation to be completed before winter.