South Australians have had their first look inside the new South Australian Sports Institute (SASI), a world-class facility designed to give local athletes a competitive edge at the elite level and support the next generation of talent.
The $88 million build, at Mile End, today opened its doors to the community – showing how SASI's new HQ will help the state achieve success from grassroots to the Olympics, Paralympics, Commonwealth Games and world championship events.
Identifying prospective athletes and developing future stars – in a purpose-built training environment – is another core focus of SASI staff, building on the Malinauskas Government's commitment to get kids off screens and active.
The nation-leading spaces within SASI – now used as a training base for the Adelaide Thunderbirds, Adelaide Lightning and Adelaide 36ers – include:
- Strength and conditioning gym, featuring a five-lane synthetic turf testing space (three lanes are 60m and two lanes are 40m) and anti-gravity treadmill.
- Environmental chamber for athlete testing under a range of temperature, hypoxic and humidity conditions.
- Full sized indoor sprung timber court and half court movement studio, designed for instant performance analysis under individual and team modes.
- Ergometer training space, home to SASI rowing and canoe/kayak programs.
- Physiology laboratory and athlete health rooms.
- Athlete recovery centre, complete with athlete nutrition zone, hot and cold pools and dual saunas.
- Biomechanics and exercise physiology laboratories fit for allied health partners and students to learn about the role that forces play in movement and physiological responses to exercise and training.
The new SASI forms one of the country's best high-performance sports precincts and is co-located with the Australian Centre for Sports Aerodynamics, Beach Volleyball National Training Centre, SA Athletics Stadium and SA Netball Centre.
Work will begin soon on the new $92 million netball and indoor sporting facility in the Mile End sports precinct, which includes the only sport specific centre for aerodynamics in the southern hemisphere.
World tour cyclist/ironman Cameron Wurf and the Japan Men's Beach Volleyball team recently chose Adelaide as their training base, highlighting the strong interest from national and international athletes to use SA's state-of-the-art facilities.
The Malinauskas Government has invested $68 million towards the SASI development to provide a world-class sport, research, and education hub to high performance athletes, coaches and university students.
Project partner UniSA has contributed a further $20 million for capital costs to open the UniSA Sports Science Hub on the second floor, with high performance sport science laboratories and teaching spaces for students.
The building is also home to the Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing which was instrumental in the design and building process, working alongside COX Architecture and Hansen Yuncken.
Around 120 staff are based at the new site, with construction starting in February 2023 and finishing in September 2024 – creating nearly 150 jobs during the project.
As put by Peter Malinauskas
This Government has a demonstrated commitment to getting kids off screens and participating in sport and other healthy activities that maximise their physical, psychological, and social development and wellbeing.
To inspire those kids, we need our world-class elite athletes to deliver on their potential.
And to do that, they must have truly world class facilities.
This project delivers those facilities, which will serve SASI well in the lead-up to the Brisbane Olympics and beyond.
Having this facility co-located with other high-quality sporting infrastructure, including the soon-to-be rebuilt Netball stadium, just a stone's throw from the city at Mile End, sets us up for the long term.
As put by Emily Bourke
The new SASI is giving our athletes and coaches an edge, from grassroots level to the global stage, and teams interstate and overseas are taking notice.
We are supporting the next generation through major investment in quality infrastructure, encouraging young people to get off screens and give sport a go.
Families walking through SASI's doors will see why South Australia is at the forefront of sport performance and research – and what we can achieve in the lead-up to the Brisbane 2032 Games and beyond.
As put by Assistant Minister for Junior Sport Participation Rhiannon Pearce
I am so excited for the South Australian community to see this world-class facility, helping to support and empower future sport champions.
We want to support our kids to get off screens and be active and involved in their local communities.
This Community Open Day is an amazing opportunity for young people to come visit the facility and be inspired by all the pathways available to them through sport.
As put by SASI Director Keren Faulkner
To see our SASI Mile End facility up and running after years of planning is something all South Australians can be incredibly proud of.
Not only does it empower our local athletes to become the best versions of themselves both in sport and their everyday lives, but it also positions Adelaide as a world leader in sport and opens up future opportunities.
This space has been designed to be inclusive and cater to all types of elite athletes which has enabled us to lead the way in Para-sport and launch the SASI Para Unit to support athletes with a disability on their pathway from identification through to the Paralympics.
Our partnership with UniSA also creates valuable opportunities to showcase how research, science, and academia can collaborate with sport.
As put by UniSA Professor Jon Buckley, Executive Dean: UniSA Allied Health and Human Performance Academic Unit
This new facility is among the top high-performance sports precincts in the country, and we're incredibly proud of our longstanding partnership with SASI and the world-class sports environment we are now part of.
UniSA's Sports Science Hub offers cutting-edge facilities, providing students with state-of-the-art technology and unrivalled opportunities to work alongside elite athletes and industry professionals.
By combining SASI's expertise in high-performance sport with UniSA's leadership in sports science education and research, this collaboration strengthens athlete preparation while shaping the future elite sports workforce.
Together, we are driving innovation, education, and elite performance, to deliver lasting social and economic benefits to South Australia and reinforcing the vital role of sport in our community.
