International Arena

Athlone’s new €10 million International Arena facility opened its doors to the public in mid-January 2013. To date the arena has hosted the AAI Combined Event Championships, the AAI Open Indoor Games, National Indoor Finals, Masters, Under 23s championships, Connacht & Leinster Indoor Championships, as well as several club and athlete training days.

The International Arena is part of a comprehensive programme of investment in AIT which has exceeded €115 million since the start of the millennium. While much of the funding has come from the Exchequer, the vast majority of the €10 million spend for the arena has been raised directly by AIT. The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport awarded €737,500 in funding towards the construction of the facility in 2012 under the Special Athletics Tracks Initiative.

The International Arena has a footprint of 6,818m2 and an overall building floor area of 9,715m2. Some 850 tonnes of structural steel and 50,000 concrete blocks went into the construction of the facility which can house 2,000 spectators.