Hon Grant Robertson

The Government is providing up to $30 million to help fund the NZ Campus of Innovation and Sport in Upper Hutt - an investment that will create 244 jobs.

“The sports hub is designed to be a world-leading shared service for a range of sports, offering the level of facilities no individual sporting code could manage by itself,” Grant Robertson said.

“Anchor tenants already signed up to use the hub include Wellington Rugby, The Phoenix and Baseball NZ.

“In addition, ongoing discussions are occurring with NZ Rugby, The Hurricanes, NZ Football (men, women and age group), Basketball NZ and Netball NZ.”

The funding comes from the $3 billion set aside for shovel-ready projects in the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund announced in Budget 2020.

“The hub is part of a wider project which is repurposing the old Central Institute of Technology into a combination of an incubator for high tech industries, the high performance sports hub, and a training facility for central government (including a full corrections training facility and NZDF capability).

“The project will provide services not only to elite sports, but it is also intended that it will provide services for academies and grass roots,” Grant Robertson said.

“It’s great to see the old Central Institute of Technology buildings being repurposed into a new facility,” Education Minister Chris Hipkins said.

All approvals are in principle and subject to contract negotiations. Investment values are also subject to change.

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