Stadio Raul Guidobaldi
Stadio Raul Guidobaldi is an athletics stadium located in Rieti, Italy. Every year since 1971 the stadium hosts the Rieti Meeting; it also hosted the 2013 European Athletics Junior Championships.[2]
The main track and the Velino grandstand | |
Full name | Stadio Raul Guidobaldi |
---|---|
Location | Rieti, Italy |
Capacity | 5,000 |
Construction | |
Built | 1960[1] |
Tenants | |
Rieti Meeting |
The stadium is notable for being the location where eight world records were settled[1] (the most famous being the 9"74 score in the 100 metres by Asafa Powell in 2007); for this reason, Steve Cram defined the stadium a sort of Mecca for middle-distance runners.[3]
History
The stadium was built as part of the construction program for the 1960 Summer Olympics and inaugurated on 23 July 1960.[1] In the 1980s a second grandstand and a marquee with an indoor track were built. In 1999 a roof was built for the main grandstand and the track was expanded to eight lanes.[1] In 2011-2012 all tracks were rebuilt in sportflex material and painted in blue by company Mondo.
Description
The stadium is located in south-west Rieti, near other sport facilities, and is bordered by the Velino river. The main track is made of sportflex and is 8 lane wide. Along each straight is a grandstand, with a total capacity of 5,000 spectators:[4] the main one, called "Velino", has a roof supported by large steel arches and also hosts the changing rooms and the press station; the smaller one is called "Terminillo" and is not covered.
Behind the main track is an area reserved to training and warming up, with a 250-metres-long 6-lane track, an area equipped for the long jump and javelin, and a marquee with an heated indoor track for winter trainings.
References
- Christian Diociaiuti (2020-07-22). "Auguri stadio Guidobaldi: 60 anni di magia!". Comitato regionale Lazio FIDAL (in Italian). Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- http://www.european-athletics.org/general-news/european-junior-championships-given-to-tallinn-and-rieti.html
- Steve Cram (11 September 2007). "Why is a small town in Italy such a mecca for world records?". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
- http://www.atletipercaso.net/stadio-r-guidobaldi-rieti