Velodrome Sofia
The Velodrome Sofia or Serdika Velodrome Sofia (bulg. Колодрум / Kolodrum) is an open-air cycle track with a 333.33 meter long track. It is located in the Bulgarian capital Sofia in the Borisova Gradina Park .
description
The runway is anchored as a concrete structure on concrete pillars. It has a length of 333.33 m and a width of 6.60 m, the maximum curve inclination (superelevation) is 42 °. The track surface is made of concrete. There are 5000 spectator seats.
history
The Sofia Cycling Club was founded on January 3, 1889 with 16 members, most of whom were Germans. After all, the sovereigns were of German ( Alexander I - Prince of Bulgaria from 1879 to 1886) and Austrian ( Ferdinand I - Prince Regent from 1887) of origin. As a result, the first statute of the association was also written in German .
In March 1899 the Sofia Cycling Club already had 78 members and therefore tried to build a 2.2 hectare area in Sofia for the construction of a cycling track. The Velodrome (then at a different location) was ceremoniously opened on August 15, 1900 with a cycling event and also attracted cyclists from the Bulgarian province. The competition disciplines were among others: slow driving over 200 m and ceremony driving, where the musicians played the cyclist song.
The Bulgarian Cyclists Association (bulg. Български колоездачен съюз) was founded on August 16, 1902 and united the cycling federations from different Bulgarian cities, of which the Sofia Cycling Club was the oldest.
The successor of the Sofia Cycling Club , the First Bulgarian Association of Cycling Club Sofia , was given an area of two hectares behind the Alexandrowska Hospital , on the road to Knjaschewo , in 1908 , to build the first real Velodrome in Bulgaria. The construction of a velodrome with a 333-meter track began on this plot in 1911. However, the Balkan Wars (1912/13 and 1913) prevented completion. In 1912 the explosives of the Macedonia-Adrianople Volunteer Corps stored in a building exploded and destroyed the facility. The cyclists' association received no compensation for the damage incurred and after the Second Balkan War the property was taken away from it and given away in small plots to people looking for accommodation.
The Sofia Cycling Club has been trying for years to find a new area for the construction of a new velodrome. The Bulgarian Sports Association and the First Bulgarian Association of Cycling Club Sofia achieved that in 1922 the Bulgarian Association of Cyclists was awarded six hectares in the Pustinjata area (Bulgarian for: the desert ) in Borisova gradina by the Sofia City Council as a replacement for the old Velodrome under construction, destroyed during the Balkan War, which was taken away from them. These six hectares were made available to them for free use for 15 years, with the condition that they prepare the space, erect the necessary buildings in coordination with the municipality of Sofia and after the 15-year period all facilities and buildings for further use in pass to the Sofia Municipality.
The first cycle track was built in 1924 on this area, the current location of the Velodrome in Sofia. Since the permanent maintenance of this track, which was only made up of heaped earth, was too expensive and not carried out correctly, a gravel track was laid out for the 15th cycling association meeting in 1928.
For the Balkaniade in 1931, however, the management of the Sofia Cyclists' Association wanted to build a modern velodrome with a concrete runway. For this purpose, the plans for the construction of a velodrome were bought from the Parisian architect Lamberg, a specialist in the construction of velodromes. The Bulgarian Olympic Committee supported the construction financially. The cycling track was built with today's dimensions (length 333.33 m; width 6.60 m). The concrete runway alone cost 1.5 million leva . From September 27 to October 4, 1931, the Balkaniade was held in Sofia, with cyclists from Bulgaria, Greece and Yugoslavia. The Bulgarians won all titles. At that time there were already 37 velodromes in Bulgaria, while there were only two velodromes in Yugoslavia and not one in Greece. In the following years, other buildings were erected next to the Velodrome: changing rooms, showers, workshops, stores, pavilions. Numerous national and international competitions were held in the Velodrome in Sofia up until the Second World War.
After the Bulgarian coup of 1944 , on September 9, 1944, the Bulgarian Cycling Association and the Bulgarian Motorcycle Association were merged on the instructions of the Ministry of the Interior on December 9 and 10, 1945 . The Velodrom continued to be managed by the cycling association. In January 1973, the Velodrome was the district council of the Sofia municipality Lenin nationalized . The now state-owned velodrome was administered by the "Sports Real Estate and Events" department at the Bulgarian Gymnastics and Sports Association.
A few years ago the Velodrom was renamed Velodrom Serdika and handed over to the successor company Nationale SportBase ( National Sport Base Public limited company ). This was subordinate to the Committee for Youth, Physical Education and Sport , which was then transformed into the State Agency for Youth and Sport and later into the Ministry of Youth and Sport.
On August 13, 2015, the Bulgarian Track Cycling Championships took place in the Velodrome.
The attempts of the Bulgarian Cycling Association to return the Velodrome were unsuccessful. The velodrome is owned by the state. The Velodrome is classified as inalienable state property assigned to the Ministry of Youth and Sport in the OECD 2019 report on state-owned companies.
Web links
Coordinates: 42 ° 40 ′ 59.5 " N , 23 ° 20 ′ 27.3" E
Individual evidence
- ↑ Track Cycling - Results: Bulgarian Track Nationals. Retrieved June 20, 2020 .
- ↑ OECD (2019), OECD Review of the Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises: Bulgaria. P. 157