Calls by New Zealand athletes and coaches for internationally competitive elite sports facilities will be met under a new agreement between AUT University and the trustees of the Millennium Institute of Sport & Health.
The agreement sees AUT investing land and capital to expand the Millennium Institute's North Shore facilities. The capital injection will be used to build on the vision of founders Graeme Avery and Stephen Tindall and supporting benefactors.
Sports Minister Murray McCully welcomed today's announcement.
"This partnership is a significant step forward in seeing more New Zealand athletes winning on the world stage. The importance of providing our elite athletes with world class training facilities, medical and dietary support, and cutting-edge sports science all in one place cannot be underestimated.
"For too long New Zealand has lacked a facility that offers our best sports men and women the resources they need to confidently take on the world's best. The Millennium Institute has set a new benchmark for our high-performance sport centres, and I sincerely hope their example is soon emulated by others."
AUT's investment includes the $12 million received from Government for the project, making AUT a joint shareholder of the facility.
"The move strengthens AUT's existing relationship with the Millennium Institute, and both parties now hold equal interests in the facility. This partnership will build on AUT's sport science expertise, advancing the frontiers of knowledge in the areas of biomechanics and human performance.
"The partnership will also provide new links for the university's public health research, for the benefit of the country's sports success and the health and wellbeing of New Zealanders," says AUT Vice-Chancellor, Derek McCormack.
The venture will provide sport science and development services to enhance elite athlete performance in an international-standard centre of excellence, in line with New Zealand's sporting competitors.
The partnership will see significant collaboration between the Institute and AUT's School of Sport and Recreation and Sports Science Research Institute, with a focus on programmes and researchers in the area of sport and recreation, and public health.
Millennium Institute CEO, Mike Stanley says New Zealand is a nation that has long prided itself on its sporting prowess and is excited by the benefits the new investment will bring and of a closer working relationship with AUT University.
"This is a big step towards our goal of providing a truly world class high performance sports training centre. Our vision, in partnership with AUT University and the NZ Academy of Sport, is to provide athletes with an integrated menu of options on one site to allow them to prepare for international competition.
"We have remained globally competitive in many sports, however the demands of competing with the world's best have never been so challenging," he says.
"One of the missing elements has been the comprehensive expertise of a dedicated multi-code centre of excellence for high performance sport. The increased presence of the AUT sport science and research people on site will provide both a further step up in services available to athletes and coaches based here, and the incentive for others to train here. Just as important is that the body of knowledge of the academic community will also be significantly developed.
"This development will help coaches and athletes bridge the gap between New Zealand's current level of sporting success and the rest of the world. Equally it will help us better meet our commitments to community sport and health and to our members and stakeholder."
