Hambantota to Build Best-Fit Commonwealth Games

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) Evaluation Commission today took a flying visit to 2018 candidate city Hambantota amid high hopes for one of the most compact Commonwealth Games concept designs ever developed.

The Hambantota 2018 bid is unique in that all but three of the competition venues are in a single cluster – the Games Park – which will also house the Games Village and training venues for most sports. It means that the majority of athletes will travel no more than 1km from the Games Village to their respective competition or training venue. In 2018 the cluster will also be just 13km from the new Hambantota International Airport and well served by a new road and rail network.

Sri Lanka's Sports Minister and Co-Chairman of the Organising Committee, Hon. Mahindananda Aluthgamage, said: "We’ve listened to athletes and put functionality and convenience at the forefront of the planning and design process. 90 percent of competition venues are within 1km of the Games Village and training venues are either in the Games Village or 0.2km away in the adjacent Training Village. They will have both training and competition venues on their doorstep."

All venues except the existing Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium – set to host the Opening and Closing ceremonies – will be new build and completed between 2014-2016 ahead of the South Asian Games. They include a 40,000 capacity Athletics Stadium; 7,500 capacity International Aquatics Centre; 7,000 capacity Hockey Stadium; 2,500 capacity Exhibition Centre; 5,000 capacity Main Arena; Multi-Sport Complex and Velodrome. All other than the Velodrome will be developed regardless of the outcome of Hambantota’s bid.

Each venue will be financed and owned by the Government to guarantee use and control. And each comes with a clearly defined legacy brief integral to the Ministry of Sport’s new seven-year plan to create a pyramid of sporting opportunity throughout the unified nation. This includes plans for the Multi-Sport Complex to house a National Sports Museum, showcasing national sporting achievements to inspire future generations. Other legacy plans will see the Exhibition Centre used for Bollywood productions, providing an important source of revenue within a mixed-zone ‘live, work and play’ environment; Hambantota will be one of five future ‘metro cities’ – economic hubs at the heart of the nation’s progressive journey and 10-year plan ‘Taking Sri Lanka to 2020.’

The Games Village – which will also include an athletics track and 50m training pool – is itself designed in six interlinked clusters of tropical medium-rise living, set amidst a ‘garden oasis’ reflecting Sri Lanka’s unique habitat. In legacy mode it will become a vibrant residential hub to support the Business and IT Park and University also on-site; three clusters will be developed as condominiums and three as student accommodation.

The masterplan for the Games Park also makes for a unique spectator experience. It is designed around two main boulevards that will provide pedestrian-only access to the venues and open plazas surrounding them. Lined with entertainment they will become hubs of activity and create a festival atmosphere for the 125,000 spectators expected each day. Aspects such as transport and security requirements are fully integrated into the ‘close, compact and clustered’ design.

The three off-site competition venues will be located in a second cluster just 35km away in Tissamaharama. The culturally significant town dates to the third century BC. It is being restored as a historic heritage city and will be the cultural capital of the Southern Province.

The CGF delegation arrived in the ‘island jewel of the Indian Ocean’ earlier this week and are spending four days assessing its capability of hosting the Games in 2018. Their helicopter tour over the fast-developing ‘new’ city on the South coast coincided with news that national carrier Sri Lankan Airlines will fly the flag for the bid, featuring the Hambantota 2018 emblem on all flights.

The CGF is due to choose the host city at its meeting in St Kitts and Nevis on 11 November 2011.

For more information, visit:www.hambantota2018.com

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