UniSA signs deal with SA Government for $88m SA Sports Institute precinct at Mile End
A new $88m joint venture between the state government and UniSA will see the creation of a new sports science precinct at Mile End.
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An $88m joint venture between the state government and UniSA will see the creation of a new sports science precinct at Mile End.
Premier Peter Malinauskas has announced the complex will become the new home for the South Australian Sports Institute (SASI).
Under revised plans SASI will be based in a new three-storey building, which now will also host a new UniSA sports science hub.
It will be located near the Mile End athletics and netball stadiums.
Planning was also well advanced for the area to become the site for a national centre for sports aerodynamics.
UniSA has a longstanding association with SASI, particularly through its involvement in road cycling, which has seen its teams compete in the Tour Down Under.
Mr Malinauskas said the new partnership between the government and UniSA would bring together key pieces of sporting infrastructure.
Under a project first promised by the previous Liberal government, $68m of taxpayers money would be invested while UniSA would contribute $20m.
“This will create a hub that will support athletes to perform at their best,” said Mr Malinauskas.
“It will attract national and international teams to Adelaide in their preparations for the Olympics, Paralympics, and Commonwealth Games.”
Mr Malinauskas said the new precinct also would “provide improved opportunities for school students to visit, be inspired and boost participation in sport”.
UniSA vice-chancellor Professor David Lloyd said its new sports science hub would be based on the third floor of the new SASI building.
“It will host research and learning, with laboratories and teaching spaces for students undertaking a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees,” he said.
Professor Lloyd said the hub presented “an outstanding opportunity to develop stronger research, teaching and commercialisation collaborations with SASI and other sports industry partners who are located at the site”.
“It will provide vibrant, integrated learning opportunities for our students,” he said.
“Coaches and allied health personnel will work together to deliver cutting-edge research to better prepare athletes for competition.
“The state-of-the-art facility will be the only one of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.”
Other features of the new precinct included an inclusive experience for para athletes, purpose built training environments for testing and preparation of athletes and dedicated spaces for high-performance health practitioners.
There also would be recovery facilities, a new environmental chamber and a movement studio with analysis suite.
Improved landscaping, improved parking at the SA Athletics Stadium and more pedestrian connections and lighting also part of the project.
Works were expected to start within the next few months, with completion due by the middle of next year.
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