The Federal Government’s bid to restore the national stadium, Lagos has gained significant momentum with the commencement of track installation.

The laying of the tracks has begun and could be completed in four weeks with the new facility in place. This is according to a senior representative of Kyle Next, one of the contractors responsible for the building’s repair.

The tracks will be installed in stages, according to Joseph Ayinla, a track technical specialist with Ideal Sporting, a company that installs and manages sports facilities.

Remarks on the track installation project at the Lagos national stadium

Ayinla disclosed that “The Elastic layer (E-layer) stage, which we started last week, will be followed by the Sealant stage. This is to make the tracks impervious to water and other fluids. The coating stage will be the third step.”

“A certified World Athletics tracks marker will then mark the tracks once all of these have been completed. There will be a jumps strip for long and triple jumps as well as a nine-lane running track,” he added.

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Ayinla was a member of the crew for the last track installation in the stadium in 1998, 24 years ago. And he has also helped build similar infrastructure at other top-tier arenas in Nigeria and abroad.

The Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development has already installed a digital scoreboard and renovated the stadium’s football field. It was achieved through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreement and the Adopt-a-Pitch initiative launched by Sports Minister Sunday Dare.

The minister stated that efforts are being made to secure the necessary funding for the project to restore the terraces.

He said, “The Lagos National Stadium’s field, tracks, and scoreboard are all covered by our Adopt-a-Pitch agreement with Premier Lotto. Additionally, we are moving forward with finding the money to repair the terraces.”

Furthermore, just last week, work on regressing the field at Oyo State’s Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Ibadan got underway.

The resurfacing of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium’s playing field in Abuja after years of neglect has been another highlight of the Federal Government’s initiative to enhance sports facilities over the past three years.