Work has begun on the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre (QSAC) in Nathan with the aim of establishing a one-stop-shop for the Queensland Academy of Sport’s (QAS’s) elite athletes.
Equipped with sledgehammers, Minister for Sport, Stirling Hinchliffe and Olympic discus athlete, Matt Denny began the partial demolition of QSAC’s indoor basketball hall.
Mr Hinchliffe said stage one of the renovations included converting the indoor court into a very large gym for training the Academy of Sport’s elite athletes in a COVID-safe environment.
“Large sections of the exterior wall are being demolished for over-sized windows to flood the new gym with natural light,” Mr Hinchliffe said.
“Built into the new gym’s design are lifting platforms for para-athletes.”
The Minister said QSAC’s smaller, existing gym area would become the centre of the Academy’s scientific work with upgraded biomechanical and physiological testing, a blood lab and instrumented running track.
He said the QSAC upgrade would give athletes preparing for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games the competitive edge to do Queensland proud on the world stage.
Chief Executive of the QAS, Chelsea Warr said the benefits of the refurbished facilities and the expertise of the QAS Performance Support Teams would ensure Queensland remained a sporting powerhouse for national programs to leverage for years to come.
“The refurbishment won’t just benefit our QAS athletes, but also National High-Performance programs which are considering a base in Queensland,” Ms Warr said.
“QAS will be a one-stop-shop for athletes moving from the gym into our health suites to access physio, medical and dietetic services.”
The demolition work is expected to be finished by early July.
