Newport International Sports Village facts for kids
The Newport International Sports Village is a big place in Newport, South Wales, where many different sports happen. It's in an area called Lliswerry. People often call it Spytty Park. This name comes from the old "Spytty Fields" where it was built.
This amazing sports village has lots of cool facilities. You can find a football training centre, a stadium for athletics and football, a velodrome for cycling, and a cycle speedway track. There's also a tennis centre, a swimming pool, and cricket pitches. The tennis centre is great because it offers many different sports, not just tennis!
The velodrome here is super important. The Great Britain track cycling team used it to get ready for the 2012 Summer Olympics. They also trained there for the 2004 Summer Olympics and 2008 Summer Olympics. It was their special training spot!
Discover the Sports Facilities
Wales National Velodrome: Cycling Fun
The Wales National Velodrome is a special indoor track for cycling. It's where cyclists can train and race at high speeds. It's a key part of the sports village.
Dragon Park: Football Training Hub
Dragon Park is the official Wales National Football Development Centre. This is where young football players and coaches get top-notch training. It helps develop the future stars of Welsh football.
Newport Stadium: Home of Athletics and Football
Newport Stadium is the main place for athletics in Newport. It's also a football stadium that used to be the home of Newport County A.F.C.. Today, teams like Llanwern A.F.C. and Newport Harriers Athletic Club use it. The Newport City Council owns and manages this stadium.
South East Wales Regional Swimming Pool: Dive In!
This modern swimming pool was built to replace an older pool in Maindee. It's a 25-metre pool with 8 lanes, perfect for competitions. It even has a special floor that can move! There's also a smaller training pool (20m x 7m) right next to the main one. Over 500 people can sit and watch the swimming events.
Newport Tennis Centre: Serve It Up!
The tennis centre is one of the first buildings in the sports village. When the swimming pool was built, it was added right onto this centre. You can play tennis both indoors and outdoors here. Plus, it has a gym where you can work out and stay fit.
Cricket Pitches: Bat and Ball Action
The village has two cricket pitches. The Newport Cricket Club has called this place home since 1990. A building called a pavilion stands between the two pitches. It has a small seating area where you can watch a match. Cricket nets were put in behind the astroturf in 2003-2004 for summer practice. There are also indoor cricket nets in the tennis centre for winter training.
In May 2019, the ground hosted a big match for Glamorgan County Cricket Club. They played against Gloucestershire. This was the first time Newport had hosted a match in this competition since 1965. It was also the first county match at the current ground. Before the 1990s, county cricket was played at Rodney Parade.
Past Facilities
Newport City Skate Park: Where It Used to Be
A concrete skate park opened here in October 2008. It cost over £200,000 to build! Local skateboarders and the Newport Youth Council helped design it. This made sure it was good for both new and experienced skaters. In 2012, the skate park moved to Tredegar Park on the other side of the city. This move made space for the new Football Development Centre.
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