Wagga Wagga Athletics, Jubilee Park

Polytan was engaged by Wagga Wagga City Council to design and construct a full-size Rekortan M competition track at Jubilee Park, replacing the existing natural grass track. As part of the process, Polytan prepared an alternative design to the original tender proposal, making more effective use of the existing space and saving the client more than $500,000 and two months of construction time.

Works included a neutral cut/fill approach to minimise off-site material disposal, along with the supply and installation of new base pavement layers and two layers of dense graded asphalt, all engineered to meet strict World Athletics tolerances.

The result is the new 8,700m² Bill Jacob Athletics Centre — a state-of-the-art facility suitable for hosting local, regional and national level events. The full-size athletics track features 8 lanes with a 10-lane main straight, two full D areas, an extension along the back straight to accommodate four long jump facilities, and a natural grass warm-up area on the western side of the track.

Equipment: Polytan supplied and installed equipment for all World Athletics Class 2 events, including a combined hammer/discus cage and single discus cage in both D areas, long/triple jump facilities, three shot-put facilities, two pole vault runways, two javelin runways and a steeplechase water pit.

Concrete: New perimeter concrete footpaths were installed to better connect athletes, spectators and officials, along with 150 linear metres of retaining block walls that double as additional spectator viewing areas.

Infield: The infield was re-graded to accommodate athletic events, with a new premium roll-out natural turf infield, an upgraded sub-surface drainage system, and a new irrigation system installed across the infield and surrounding embankment/warm-up areas.