CCSC oval reopens to public after 401 days

The CCSC oval. | CDN Digital file photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The rubberized track oval of the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC) will finally be reopened to the Cebuanos on Tuesday, July 23, after 13 months or 401 days of being closed for renovation.

The CCSC management officially announced its reopening in a Facebook post on Monday, July 22.

Besides being the centerpiece of the Palarong Pambansa 2024 that was held in Cebu City two weeks ago, the CCSC oval became a hot topic after discrepancies were found on its entire length.

READ: CCSC track oval is 0.88 meters short – sports officials

The supposedly 400-meter standard length of the oval came out short by 0.88-meters or 0.22% on average, after a third-party surveyor re-measured it during the height of the Palarong Pambansa.

READ: CCSC oval controversy: 11 Palaro athletics records ‘nullified’

It was discovered that all of the lanes were short by certain distances, which resulted to the nullification of new records set for track events that had a distance of over 100 meters. In total, 11 of Palarong Pambansa’s new meet records were nullified.

READ: CCSC rubberized track must be ripped off, replaced – insider

Also, visible signs of damage were found on the oval, which raised suspicions on the use of substandard materials during its renovation.

Track oval reopening

In an earlier interview, Cebu City Sports Commission (CCSC) Chairman John Pages revealed that they were already planning to reopen the oval to the public soon, but he didn’t divulge the exact date.

CCSC’s management announced on Monday that they will already reopen the oval to the Cebuanos comprised of regular joggers, fitness buffs, and even varsity athletes who have been longing to run on a rubberized track.

For more than a year, the Cebu Business Park’s open grounds, at the back of the Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepcion – Cebu, became a refuge for Cebuano joggers who have been using it as an alternative to the CCSC oval.