Indoor Track Facility Coming To Gately Park

CHICAGO, IL -- For decades, Gately Park has been known as the mecca of high school football on the South Side of Chicago as the home field of the Mt. Carmel High School Caravan but could soon find a new claim to fame as the prime home of runners and walkers in the city year-round.

Funding and support has been confirmed for the construction of the first-ever public dedicated indoor track and field facility in Chicago, according to a news release from the office of Mayor Rahm Emanuel. The facility at 744 E. 103rd Street will have the ability to support athletic programs, host national intercollegiate events and serve as one of the first neighborhood campuses for After School Matters.

The year-round, open to the community track will provide "much-needed opportunities for the Pullman and Roseland communities to stay safe, to stay engaged and to stay on track to a brighter future,” Emanuel said.

The facility will cover about 134,000 square feet, much of which will be a 200-meter hydraulically banked track. There will also be an 8-lane track with a full range of track and field event capabilities including long jump, high jump, a dedicated throwing cage and eight sprint lanes.

Spectator capacity will be at about 3,500. It will also have multipurpose rooms, locker rooms and concessions.

The Exelon Corporation is the primary funding entity for the project, which is expected to be completed in 2019.

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