NEWPORT'S velodrome celebrated its opening with a bumper weekend of top class action as both fans and cyclists gave the new venue a huge thumbs up.

The flagship £7.5 million facility opened on Friday and marked its first weekend with two packed nights of competition featuring some of the world's top cyclists.

Spectators flocked to the new arena to see the high class competition with both Friday and Saturday nights complete sell-outs.

And the cyclists later praised the track as one of the fastest they had raced on.

Councillor Glyn Jarvis, the city council's cabinet member for culture and recreation, hailed the success of the opening weekend as a boost for the city and predicted the velodrome circuit could be a "record breaker".

Councillor Jarvis said: "It was a great opening and the sell-out crowd there gave it a great atmosphere. It was packed out and really buzzing.

"I was told that all the hotels around the area were booked out as well, which is a great boost for the city.

"The riders were very pleased with the track, and said it was the fastest one they had been on.

"The designer said it would be the fastest track he had built and now that has been endorsed by the riders hopefully we will see some records being broken."

The 250-metre track shares the design of the Sydney Olympic circuit and its steep corners enable riders to reach top speeds. It will now be the headquarters for the Welsh Cycling Union.

The velodrome also houses other sports facilities open to the public including a court for five-a-side football, netball, basketball and badminton, a 60-metre sprint track, and a new fitness suite with a steam room and sauna and dance studio.