Hockey Australia claim they will have the “best hockey facility in the world” after its new centre of excellence, reported to cost £75m, was given the green light this week.
The Western Australian government recently completed negotiations to sign the development deed with Curtin University, while minister for sport and recreation David Templeman visited Perth Hockey Stadium to mark the development of the state-of-the-art world-class facility.
On completion, the brand-new centre will include four international hockey pitches, a specialist training facility, an indoor hockey centre, with the major stadium to include seating up to 10,000 in event mode with modern broadcasting capabilities.
“Predicted to be arguably the best hockey facility in the world, the WA Government’s investment will provide all-round support both for events and athletes both on and off the pitch,” a Hockey Australia statement said.
“This includes sustainability features, unmatched technology, and a key focus on athlete wellbeing, assisting the Australian national men’s and women’s team’s ability to remain amongst the top rungs of the international hockey stage.
The purpose-built facility will remain Australia’s home of hockey for the next 18 years, after Hockey WA won the bid in December 2022.
Hockey Australia CEO David Pryles said: “The WA Government’s investment is the largest in the sport’s history in Australia and we’re pleased to see years of planning come to fruition as it coincides with the start of a new Olympic cycle in our High Performance programme.
Two-time Olympian Tom Wickham said the facility is massive for Australia, hockey and Western Australian sport.
“Having a high performance facility like this, when there’s nothing else like it in Australia and arguably, in the world, is massive.
“To have the convenience of a world-class facility makes it more enticing to be a part of our sport. We’re competing with some big sports, so to be able to have a facility like this that only makes it more convenient and enhances the experience of our sport will do wonders for the sport’s potential.”
Hockey WA CEO Fabian Ross said: “This project continues to be unlike anything our sport has seen.”
