King Baudouin Stadium to get new athletics track in 2023

A new athletics track will be built in the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels in 2023. This was announced on Wednesday by Brussels Deputy Sports Minister Benoît Hellings during the presentation of the 46th edition of the Memorial Van Damme.

"The budget has already been released to pay for repairs," Hellings confirmed. "Afterwards, we can start with the construction of the new track. The budget has also been accepted, now we are looking for a contractor. This way we want to ensure that the Memorial will remain in Brussels for a long time."

Kim Gevaert, meeting director of the Memorial Van Damme, sees many possibilities. "In the first place it is good for the Memorial, but with the new track we can also once again become a candidate for organising European and World Championships."

The Memorial Van Damme is the most prestigious athletics competition in Belgium, and serves as the penultimate event of the prestigious Diamond League. It was first organized in 1977 in honour of Belgian runner Ivo Van Damme. Van Damme, who won two gold medals at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, was killed later that year in a car accident.

This year the event will be held on 2 September. The new track will not be in place by then, but there will be repairs to the current track, which was laid in 2008 and put into use a year later. 

(TOM)

© BELGA PHOTO JASPER JACOBS