£9m SportPark extension takes a step closer
A topping out ceremony has taken place to celebrate the latest milestone in the creation of a 21,500 sq ft. four-storey fourth pavilion to expand SportPark, the multi award-winning development on the Loughborough University campus.
The £9m project on Loughborough University Science and Enterprise Park (LUSEP) is being built to Passivhaus Classic Accreditation to significantly reduce CO2 emissions and is scheduled for completion at the end of the year.
Passivhaus consultant Beyond Carbon Associates has hailed the development as “an exciting, future-facing building, treading lightly on our planet’s resources using Passivhaus energy conservation, solar PV and a climate resilient design to manage future heat waves.
SportPark already houses the UK’s highest concentration of sports governing bodies and national sports organisations. The latest organisation to join is UK Anti-Doping (UKAD), having relocated its central office from London in May 2021, as part of its new 2021-2025 Strategic Plan. UKAD is the anchor tenant of SportPark Pavilion 4, occupying the entire third storey.
Professor Mike Caine, Loughborough University Associate pro vice-chancellor sport, said: “SportPark is a tremendous asset to the University and wider region – housing complementary organisations, working in partnership with the University, and harnessing the power of sport to benefit communities, locally, nationally, and around the world. SportPark Pavilion 4 will provide the capacity to welcome yet more mission-driven organisations to the University, and to reinforce the East Midlands region’s potential as a global sports innovation hub, with Loughborough at its heart.”
“The SportPark expansion coincides with a growing number of innovation and technology-led sports businesses launching at, or relocating to, LUSEP, attracted to the collaborative environment and access to the University’s world-leading expertise in sports science, engineering, health and well-being, high-performance athlete base, and sports infrastructure.”
SportPark Pavilion 4 is delivered by the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP) as part of the Getting Building Fund (GBF). Funds were designated for investment in local, shovel-ready infrastructure projects to stimulate jobs and support economic recovery across the country. The LLEP was allocated £20m, supporting the SportPark 4 project with £6m.
A separate £1.8m GBF allocation helped fund improvements at Junction 23 and the A512, which links the M1 with Loughborough.
