• Norwood Forum

Crystal Palace National Sports Centre: repair and improvements

Sadiq Khan, The Mayor of London, has today (16 May 2023) announced plans to repair the athletics track and improve the indoor facilities at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre (NSC) during the next year have been announced:

"Opened in 1964, the centre comprises an athletics stadium, swimming and diving pools, together with a gym and indoor and outdoor sports facilities.

The historic venue has previously hosted international swimming, diving, athletics meetings and motor-racing and was also the site of the first Women’s FA Cup final – but is now in need of major investment and refurbishment.

The Mayor has already committed to comprehensively redeveloping the site, including a complete rebuild of the swimming pools’ structure and improved sporting facilities. He has now appointed a project director with experience of redeveloping sporting venues and his team is currently working with consultants and architects to devise long-term proposals for the future of the centre. This includes reviewing the scale of the athletics stadium with the Mayor being clear that this must be underpinned by a viable business plan.

However, Sadiq has today warned that the level of redevelopment and repair work required is significant and extremely complex and is likely to take five years to complete.

In the meantime, Sadiq is today confirming a number of early improvements that will be made in the next year while plans for the long term are developed. This includes:

  • Repairing the athletics track and installing replacement floodlighting
  • Reopening the climbing walls in the indoor centre
  • Upgrading the fitness gym
  • Plans are also being considered to open up a pop-up activation such as a childrens’ activity centre.

Large parts of the centre, including the 25 metre and teaching swimming pools, the athletics facilities, the indoor sports hall and gym and the outside courts are still available for use and it is intended that they will remain open for as long as possible during the longer-term redevelopment."

You can read more here in The Mayor's press release.