Bedford International Athletic Stadium upgrade restores its competition status
Bedford International Athletic Stadium has been re-established as a competition-standard athletics facility thanks to a major track resurfacing project.
The newly resurfaced track facility marks the culmination of extensive work supported by investment from Bedford Borough Council and has helped re-establish the venue as a competition-standard athletics facility and secure its long-term future for clubs, athletes and the wider community.
An initial reopening in December was attended by Bedford Mayor Tom Wootton, and Bedford Borough Council portfolio holder Cllr Sarah Gallagher along with members of Bedford & County Athletics Club keen to be the first to use the new surface.
More recently, England Athletics chief executive Chris Jones and club support manager for the region, Kirsty Fardell, attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the mayor and other key figures, before a county open fixture hosted at the venue.
England Athletics CEO Chris Jones said: "This has been a fantastic collaborative effort between Bedford and County AC, GLL, Bedford Borough Council, and we're just pleased to play our part in that, bringing our national age group championships back to Bedford in 2026.
"Without the investment of Bedford Borough Council, this track opening today would not be possible. But our Facilities and Planning Manager, Ed Hunt, and Club Support Manager Kirsty Fardell, have been fundamentally important in terms of advice and guidance around track surface type, managing the relationship between club and facility, contractors, Polytan, and making sure that the design and technical specifications around the facilities were compliant with the requirements of the sport."
The resurfacing works formed part of a wider programme of investment at the stadium in Barkers Lane. Key elements of the project included a full relay of the athletics track and surrounding areas with a Polytan overlay, black top resurfacing of hard standing areas, installation of a new running rail and the introduction of smart timing gates.
Testing of the new track has now been completed, with certification issued following assessment by a UK Athletics recognised test house. The facility has been measured and assessed to UK Athletics Level 2 Track & Field standards and has achieved UKA TrackMark Certification Units 1, 2 and 5.
In addition, the project includes the purchase of £200,000 worth of new athletics and maintenance equipment, due to arrive over the coming months.
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