Laois to get new world-standard sports facility in Portlaoise

A long campaign for an all-weather athletics track in Portlaoise looks set to be realised at one of the Laois town's big secondary schools in a major boost for local clubs and people with disabilities.

The plans for a new synthetic surface at Portlaoise College are outlined in a contract worth an estimated €500,000 from the Laois Offaly Education and Training Board (LOETB) this year.

The education agency which runs the school on the Mountrath Road wants to carry out a complete overhaul of the existing grit athletics track and other field sports to the rear of the building.

A new sub-base and paving will be installed, and an eight-lane new track over which a synthetic track surface and long jump runway will be installed.

Tender documents say the new running track surface must be 'World Athletics approved' with shot-put and long jump facilities to World Athletics standards. A grass playing pitch in the infield will be retained.

It is anticipated that the work will take 16 weeks to complete, with the hope that it will be done during the summer of 2026.

LOETB Chief Executive Joe Cunningham told the Leinster Express / Laois Live that the project is the result of a cooperative effort with Laois Athletics, the Vision Impaired Community Physical Activity Hub (Laois VIP hub) and Laois Sports Partnership.

Funded with the support of a Sports Capital grant, Mr Cunningham said community use is central to the development of the facility, which he acknowledged had been sought for over 20 years.

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Portlaoise has no synthetic running track. The track at Portlaoise College opened in 2007 when the school relocated from the town centre. The move coincided with the closure of the only public athletics track in Portlaoise on the site of the old swimming pool.

When Portlaoise Leisure Centre opened on the same site, all-weather soccer pitches replaced the old gritted running track.

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Laois County Council was called upon by John Scully of Laois Athletics to develop a tartan track in Laois in conjunction with local clubs ahead of the preparation of the current Laois County Development Plan.