IT'S a facility that's helped produce some of the Hunter's Olympic and Paralympic athletes.
But the athletics track used by the likes of Jess Hull and Rose Davies on their journeys to Paris is quickly falling into a state of disrepair.
The Fearnley Dawes Athletics Centre track in Newcastle West is starting to resemble a patchwork quilt, such are the amount of repairs undertaken in recent years.
Reopened in mid-2017 following a complete upgrade, the seven-year-old track is now well worn.
Its problems first started when birds started nipping at it. But wear and tear, mostly from sprint athletes wearing spikes - along with water seeping in - have rendered it second-rate.
"It has been fantastic in the short term, but it's just deteriorated," facility manager Alan McCloskey said.
"We've had four Olympians come from our track, but it's a bit of a disgrace to ask them to train on that type of surface."
The track is unique in that it is a rubber surface. Other tracks, like those at Maitland and Glendale, are known as a "Mondo" track, a synthetic surface which is used for top-tier events like the Olympics.
The athletics centre is a council-owned facility, but leased to Newcastle Athletic Field Management Inc. An association of user-group representatives, it pays council an annual fee of about $5000 and then charges users for admission.
"We manage it as volunteers, and we pay a few people too," Newcastle Athletic Field Management chairman Sean Scanlon said.
"The track only lasts seven to 10 years. It's had a bit more wear and tear than we expected.
"But we've gone from having a handful of athletics carnivals to about 70 for schools every year, plus more wheelchair users, the little athletics club, veteran athletics club and other users."
Mr McCloskey said he had completed "hundreds" of repairs, using a different material to fill in damaged areas.
That is keeping the track open, but Mr Scanlon said it could not continue.
"I think in the next 12 months," he said of how long before the track might become unusable.
An $800,000 grant from the NSW government helped fund the track that opened in 2017. The council made a small contribution.
The association has raised $100,000 for a new track, and estimates they'll need another $700,000 for a Mondo surface.
"What we're essentially asking is that council ensure that this thing is budgeted for, and commit to making sure this resurfacing happens as it's required every seven to 10 years," Scanlon said.
"Rather than this process of trying to get grants.
"$700,000 over 10 years, it's $70,000 or so a year, that's a pretty cheap deal for what is a facility that gets an incredible amount of use and means a lot to a lot of people.
"We don't really want to jack up pricing. It's cheaper than Maitland and Glendale, but it's more of a community facility.
"The other part of it is, it's a facility that specifically set out to accommodate wheelchair athletes."
City of Newcastle said in a statement that it manages "152 sports fields across 63 sites" and is "committed to delivering quality sporting facilities for the city".
"The Fearnley Dawes Athletics Centre is licensed to Newcastle Athletics, which is responsible for general repairs and maintenance at the facility," it said.
"Earlier this year City of Newcastle provided information to Newcastle Athletics in relation to a NSW government grant that could potentially support their proposed upgrade of the track, however we understand the sporting body did not move forward with an application.
"City of Newcastle will continue to work with Newcastle Athletics on future grant-funding opportunities."
