New $88 million South Australian Sports Institute opens

The new $88 million South Australian Sports Institute (SASI) has now opened offering a premium facility designed to give local athletes a competitive edge at the elite level while also supporting the next generation of talent.

SASI’s new headquarters, located at Mile End, aims to help the state achieve success from grassroots to the Olympics, Paralympics, Commonwealth Games and world championship events.  

The 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 Australia'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.

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.

SASI Director Keren Faulkner notes “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.

The South Australian 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.

UniSA Professor Jon Buckley, Executive Dean: UniSA Allied Health and Human Performance Academic Unit adds “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.”

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.