In interview for time.com.mx Y puentelibre.mxthe leader of the Union of Cyclists for the State of Chihuahua announced that just yesterday, January 5, they learned through the Chihuahuan Sports Institute that the Ministry of Communications and Public Works has the order to demolish the velodrome of La Deportiva South to turn it into a running track.
Precisely Jessi, who has been president of the association for less than a year, said that she has been looking for a meeting with the State Government authorities since she came in to give them the green light to remodel and rescue the ‘Alonso Cano’ Velodrome.
“We have filed letters requesting an audience with the Sports Institute, yesterday we realized that the demolition is orderedthere is an authorized tender since November 2022, they already had trades from before and they never told us anything ”.
The cyclist narrated that “since last year we have requested an audience with the Sports Institute to propose the restoration of this sports facility” because “it lacks maintenance, it has been neglected and is in deterioration, it needs a remodeling”.
They offer to remodel it without state resources.
They are not even requesting resources from the state treasury, as he described, because they could remodel with Federal Government funds and even sponsorshipsThey could also maintain it with those mechanisms.
The structure, from what they have reviewed so far, is in good condition for cycling, but needs a new wooden surface to get it going.
“We have had an approach with Conade, with the Fiscal Stimulus Trust for High Performance Sports (Efideporte), so that the resource that this remodeling implies do not come out of the pocket of the Statebut of sponsors and contributors of this project”, offered Jessica Fernández.
At the Sports Institute “they told us that ‘we received the surprise just like you and Public Works didn’t tell us anything’ about the demolition, that ‘he came asking us for the keys’”.
He regretted the decision because “it is the only velodrome of that magnitude and specialties in the state, when it was in optimal conditions it left us with great satisfaction and above all medals.”
“If you want to grow you need the right installation” and the cyclists “what we ask is that they listen to us. There are a lot of spaces to build an athletics track, I understand that obviously all sports have the same importance, in athletics there is a lot of participation, there are not many structures, we just have one of a velodrome in the state that can be recovered ”.
“We are not asking for recoursenor anything more than a green light for the trust fund like Conade to recover the installation, already recovering it we can push to have more events nationwide and that they are going to bring an economic benefit to the state. It is a sport that is growing a lot worldwide, it will make you grow”.
The abandonment “is not because of the cyclists or that they do not use them,” lamented the president, “you cannot risk using a facility that does not have the necessary measures and maintenance.”
File photo of the velodrome.
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