Chengdu 2021 gets a thumbs up on first inspection visit after attribution

CHENGDU, People’s Republic of China – With two years and four months to go for the Summer Universiade in Chengdu in 2021, a FISU delegation conducted its very first inspection visit in the host city, after the official attribution of the event.

Led by the Summer Universiade Director Marc Vandenplas, the FISU delegation’s five-day visit mainly focused on the sport venue selection as well as the initial plan for the Athletes’ Village.

The FISU team was joined by Cheng Jie, the Competition Department Director of the Federation of University Sports of China (FUSC) as well as other representatives from the National University Sports Federation.

The Venue Inspection and Evaluation Working Session kicked off on 17 March with the opening meeting where professional consultancy institutions introduced the venue setting plan for the Chengdu Universiade.

The venue inspection included field visits to the Shuangliu Sports Center, Sichuan National Badminton Training Base, Chengdu University, China Table Tennis Association Western International Training Center and 35 other venues. In addition, the plans for construction of several new stadiums such as the Fenghuangshan Sports Center and the Dongan Lake Sports Center in Longquanyi District were also presented.

Summer Universiade Director Marc Vandenplas said, “This visit has once again shown us the professionalism of the city of Chengdu. Most of the existing venues are of a very high standard, although they will need some upgradation in terms of lighting, lockers etc. Fifteen new venues are going to be built which presents a challenge in the two years and four months left before the Opening Ceremony. But this risk is controlled, as a strong contingency plan can be put in place with a lot of spare venues, that are available for use.”

“We are very confident when we see the intelligent way the team in Chengdu is operating,” continued Vandenplas. “For example, they do not hesitate to visit Shenzhen to enlist the expertise of former members of the Shenzhen (2011) Organising Committee and have even incorporated some of them into their team.”

The visit closes with a wrap-up session on 23 March during which major leaders of the Chengdu Sports Bureau and heads of 11 other working groups of the Chengdu Universiade will all take part.

FISU and FUSC will continue to give productive guidance and advice to Chengdu on the next stage of preparatory works for the Chengdu 2021 Summer Universiade.

The Opening Ceremony at Shenzhen 2011 Summer Universiade