First-class sports facilities

The Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), together with the Valencia Trinidad Alfonso Zurich Marathon and Valencia City Council, today inaugurated the new athletics track on the UPV’s Vera campus, which has been completely refurbished to incorporate a new management model based on public-private partnership, thanks to the collaboration agreement signed between the UPV and the Correcaminos Sports Club.

This agreement forms part of the ‘Comparte Maratón Valencia’ project under its Facilities strand, which Correcaminos has launched to repay the people of Valencia for their support of Spain’s best marathon and to promote the practice of athletics in the province.

The budget put out to tender by the UPV for the refurbishment of the facility amounts to €958,604 and, in addition, the Valencia Marathon has contributed 120,000 euros, allocated both to adapting the track so that almost all athletics disciplines can be practised there — except throwing events, due to the use of the grass area for other sports — and to providing specific equipment for weight training and warm-up areas.

Shared use of the facility with all the city’s athletics clubs in the city

Furthermore, thanks to this agreement, a shared-use model for the facility has been established so that all the athletics clubs in the city can train there, if they so wish, from 25 May onwards, sharing the refurbished facility with the university community.

Correcaminos will contribute its technical and organisational expertise to ensure optimal use of the facility, working closely with the Municipal Sports Foundation of Valencia to coordinate access and regulate usage rules, thereby helping to relieve pressure on the athletics track at the Estadi del Turia in Section III of the Turia Gardens.

The agreement also provides for the organisation of training activities, competitions, and talent-recruitment programmes, encouraging the practice of athletics among students and the general public.

José Capilla: “A further step in the UPV’s commitment to sport, health and opening up our facilities to society”

Present at the opening alongside the Councillor for Sport of Valencia City Council, María Rocío Gil, the president of the Correcaminos Sports Society (SDC), Francisco Borao, the manager of the Municipal Sports Foundation, Mª Ángeles Vidal, and the director of the Trinidad Alfonso Foundation, Juan Miguel Gómez, the Rector of the UPV, José Capilla, emphasised that the comprehensive refurbishment of the athletics track “represents a further step in the UPV’s commitment to sport, health and opening up our facilities to the public”.

“This initiative,” he added, “not only improves conditions for university and public sports, but also allows us to move towards the official accreditation of a strategic facility for Valencia, further strengthening collaboration between the university, public institutions and the Valencian sports community to promote talent and athletics at both grassroots and elite levels.”

A benchmark facility for over two decades

Opened in 2000, the UPV athletics stadium has been a benchmark for university and public sports for more than two decades. The facility features an eight-lane tartan track, surrounded by a perimeter track of artificial grass and natural grass infield, with a total area of 20,500 square metres. It also features two pole vault areas, various jumping pits and four floodlight towers.

The continuous use of the facility—with thousands of users and opening hours from Monday to Friday, 7.30 am to 10.30 pm—has made a major refurbishment necessary. The work carried out has included replacing the athletics track surface, refurbishing the perimeter artificial grass, upgrading the jumping pits and updating the sports equipment for the various disciplines.

A key upgrade to host top-level competitions

One of the key aspects of the project has been correcting flaws in the track layout to achieve a high level of uniformity and technical precision. This upgrade is essential for the track to qualify for official certification by the Athletics Federation, enabling it to host higher-level competitions and establishing the facility as a leading sports venue.

The reopening and improvement of this facility symbolise the UPV’s commitment to actively contributing to social development and to promoting sport as a tool for health, education and social cohesion.

In this way, the UPV consolidates its role as a key player in revitalising athletics in Valencia, promoting a model of collaboration that connects academia with society and facilitates access to high-quality facilities geared towards both grassroots and high-performance sport.