 | ASCOT REDEVELOPMENT 45-year-old grandstand knocked down and replaced Straight mile to move 42 metres north Tunnel to be demolished Course dug up and relaid New parade ring Same design team as Millennium Stadium, Stadium Australia and Wembley |
Officials at Ascot insist they are confident the racecourse's �185m redevelopment will be completed in time for the 2006 Royal meeting. Next week's Royal Ascot meeting will be held at York for the first time in its 300-year history due to the revamp.
Ascot chief Douglas Erskine-Crum said: "We remain confident of being back in advance of the 2006 Royal meeting."
However, he said contingency plans would be in place if construction work fell behind schedule.
Work started at the end of last September and other fixtures have been relocated to Lingfield, Newbury, Salisbury and Windsor.
Erskine-Crum added: "I must stress that the plan remains to be back at Ascot next year.
"It's going to be our racecourse for the next 50 years and we hope to redefine the standards expected in racing, so it's important to get everything right.
"The main construction phase is now well under way. We are very pleased with progress on the track and two underpasses and we will be working closely with trainers later this year to begin to trial the new course."
Ascot's scheduled reopening date is Saturday 27 May, 2006, in advance of the 2006 Royal meeting.
"However, we have never been under any illusion with regards to the challenge we face to deliver the vast, complex project in just 20 months," said Erskine-Crum.
"As anticipated and expected, given that now we are some eight months into the redevelopment, some aspects of the project are slightly ahead and some are slightly behind - but only by a matter of weeks, and we are optimistic they are recoverable."
MMIX
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