On Monday afternoon, Luxembourg's Minister for Sport, Romain Schneider, together with Luxembourg's Minister for Sustainable Development and Infrastructure, François Bausch, unveiled plans for a significant upgrade of Luxembourg's Institut National des Sports (INS) in Cents; the new project will involve a new 400 metre running track surface, a 400-seat stand and an indoor sports hall.
The 1,208m2 sports hall will comprise a large standard-sized hall of 33 x 18 metres (divisible in two), another 145 m2 hall that can be used for gymnastics, meetings, etc., as well as a 40 m2 spinning room, changing rooms and offices.
The current athletics track will be completely re-laid, resulting in a 6-lane 400 metres athletics track (8 lanes for the 100m straight). The infield will be redeveloped to accommodate various field athletics disciplines including the javelin, discus and hammer, as well as a long jump and triple jump in front of the new stand (see below), as well as separately for training, two high jumps, the pole vault and weightlifting.
The new stand will seat 444 spectators (incl 32 VIP places) as well as space for administrators and the press), a bar and toilets. Its roof will accommodate 900m2 of photovoltaic cells (155 kWP) capable of producing 132,000 kWh annually.
The timeline for the new project is that it is in the pre-preoject (PAD) phase, with work expected to commence in 18 months' time and is expected to me completed mid-2018. The total invstment will amount to €11.55 million, comprising €5 for the new sports hall, €5.9 million for the new athletics track and €650k for the photovoltaic cells. This athletics facility will then become the new national athletics stadium, as the Stade Josy Barthel is being replaced by a new football and rugby stadium in Kockelscheuer-Cessange.
Photos by Geoff Thompson (above, L-R): Minister Francois Bausch; Minister Romain Schneider.
