Jiangsu 21st Provincial Games in Lianyungang Prepares 22 Upgraded Venues for October Opening

The 21st Provincial Games of Jiangsu Province will open in Lianyungang on October 15 and run through October 22, bringing together athletes from across the province for what local organizers report as the region’s largest, highest-specification, and most influential comprehensive sports gathering. Local preparations center on 22 newly renovated or expanded venue projects with a total estimated investment of approximately 1.2 billion yuan, spanning 16 county-level districts and functional zones, the municipal sports bureau, the city construction holding group, and three local universities.

Lianyungang Sports Center Upgrades All Four Major Zones

As the core venue for the upcoming Games, the Lianyungang Sports Center will host the opening and closing ceremonies alongside track and field, football, tennis, swimming, synchronized swimming, judo, and boxing competitions. The renovation project covers a total construction area of 106,700 square meters, encompassing the primary stadium and three adjacent facilities. These comprise a 42,000-square-meter stadium seating 27,000 spectators, a 16,000-square-meter gymnasium with a 5,000-seat capacity, a 20,000-square-meter natatorium accommodating 3,000 people, and a 20,000-square-meter public fitness hall.

Beyond meeting provincial competition standards, the overhaul targets long-term community utility after the Games conclude. Planners have reconfigured outdoor plazas, landscape features, and parking zones while building a new elevated outdoor platform and retail amenities. The complex is designed to function as an integrated urban hub combining athletic competition, fitness recreation, cultural performances, and leisure commerce.

County Venues Prepare Specialized Competition Facilities

Outside the central complex, municipal districts and counties have completed specialized facility upgrades tailored to individual sports. The Haizhou Gymnasium features a main hall, a rugby pitch, and an upgraded track and field zone designed to serve as an urban sports landmark. Nearby, the Lotus Main Hall provides 13,000 square meters of competition space outfitted with professional-grade sports flooring specifically laid for badminton and table tennis events.

The designated rugby venue meets official Rugby Union standards, utilizing a sand-cultivated natural turf pitch equipped with rapid drainage, 800-lux professional lighting, and a secondary public address system alongside a 1,006-seat grandstand. Meanwhile, Donghai County Gymnasium and the gymnasium at Donghai County Senior High School have updated roof steel frames, lighting, scoreboards, and wooden flooring to handle five-on-five and three-on-three basketball matches.

Guanyun County Gymnasium has undergone extensive renovations to host martial arts forms, wrestling, and trampoline competitions.

Specialized Water and Outdoor Disciplines Take Shape Along the Coast

Coastal and specialized terrain venues round out the 22 competition sites. Lianyungang hosted beach volleyball matches from September 16 to 21 at the Liandao Beach Volleyball Court, which featured dedicated athlete functional zones, spectator stands, and locker facilities.

Further south, the Xuwei新区 venue underwent a comprehensive track overhaul to satisfy strict length, width, and water-flow criteria required for official rowing and canoeing events. Suitable training waters of this scale remain limited across the region, making the redesigned marine course a critical asset for water sports teams preparing for the provincial competition.

Unresolved Competition Schedules and Final Logistics

While all 22 competition zones have reported completion of infrastructure work ahead of the October 15 opening, detailed daily heat schedules and final broadcast allocations for several regional preliminaries remain unannounced by provincial sports authorities as opening day approaches.

More on this story: Lianyungang Prepares to Host the 21st Jiangsu Games Opening Ceremony on October 15