The Tournament Capital will be getting an Olympic-quality track.

Kamloops council has approved spending just under $2.2 million to replace the 15-year-old track at the Tournament Capital Centre.

The city expects to pay $1.43 million from reserve costs for the track and $750,000 from gaming grants. The city is hoping to receive $900,000 in grant funding that would offset some of the costs.

Community and protective service director Byron McCorkell says the city plans to put in a surface called Mondotrack, which would be suitable for high-performance competitions.

“The tracks in our facilities are extensively used, from walking right through to full-on competitions, of which Hillside hosts eight tournament track meets a year.”

The new track will be installed either this year or next. The city says Mondotrack is manufactured and installed by one company worldwide, and while it inquiries about the timeline to bring in that product staff will also be looking at availability of a similar, high-quality track.

“With regard to the Mondo product line, they are exclusive Olympic. So when you go to the Olympics, you will see a Mondotrack. The new products are trying to be part of that conversation,” McCorkell.

This comes after the city replaced the turf at Hillside Stadium last summer, at a cost of just under $650,000.