Angle Park, South Australia’s home of greyhound racing for the past 49 years, will close in early April for approximately four months to allow for track and infrastructure works.
The project will see Angle Park undergo a complete track rebuild and a minor redesign, resulting in all racing at the venue being suspended during that 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 – the Adelaide Greyhound Racing Club playing a significant role in that process.
While 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 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,” said Greyhound Racing SA Chairman, Grantley Stevens.
The most notable change for participants will be the re-positioning of the four existing starts at Angle Park – 388 m will change to 342 m, 515 m (530 m), 600 m (595 m) and 731 m (730 m).
GRSA also intends to undertake a number of unrelated projects during the Angle Park shutdown, including reconfiguration of the judges’ tower to ensure an optimal race vision camera position and installation of a new video board (to replace the existing semaphore board).
All Angle Park race meetings during the affected period will be transferred to Gawler and Murray Bridge, including the current Thursday night Category 1 stakemoney meeting at Angle Park.
