Bringing Crystal Palace back to life

Once a state-of-the-art venue which hosted world-class events, this south London institution has been allowed to fall into disrepair, but there are exciting plans to revitalise it

Venture down to the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre and you immediately feel the history and significance of the place. Opened in 1964, its purpose was to provide facilities for athletes of all levels – from the grassroots to the very elite – to train, compete and hone their craft. 

The indoor arena has hosted, and still does host, a number of sports. The 50m swimming and diving pool was closed in 2020 but basketball, beach volleyball and boxing are just three of many events that have taken place in recent years. 

Step outside of the centre across the walkway and you are met with the world renowned 16,500 capacity athletics stadium. The venue hosted the Amateur Athletics Association (AAA) Championships – the precursor to the UK Athletics Championships – on and off between 1971 and 1984. 

It also held the London Grand Prix, now the Diamond League, from 1999 to 2012. Since the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, however, Crystal Palace has not hosted a single major televised domestic or international athletics event. 

The stadium’s demise from its glory days is well documented. Bird excrement covers both the indoor track and the seats outside, the synthetic track is so worn away in places you can see the concrete and, last November, the floodlights were taken away for safety reasons. There were real fears the venue might be demolished entirely.

However, the word of the day now is “opportunity”. Those who have an affinity with the venue believe that, with the right investment and a little TLC, the potential for Crystal Palace to be a world-class arena for training and elite competition once again is significant. 

AW went down to the venue to speak to former athletes, current coaches and stakeholders to understand how much it means to people and what the future might hold.

The battle to save Crystal Palace – and another promise

In October 2014, those concerned with the lack of legacy from the London 2012 Games met in the cafeteria at the Crystal Palace indoor centre. There was one topic of conversation. How best to secure a long-term, sustainable future for the complex? 

The result was the establishment of the Crystal Palace Sports Partnership (CPSP), a body that John Powell has headed up over the last…