Preliminary work is to start today [Friday] on the Olympic standard indoor sports arena at AIT, which is expected to cost in the region of €10.5 million.
Despite the freezing conditions, more than 60 people turned up at AIT on Tuesday evening to hear details of the institute’s new indoor sports facility. Construction work is to start on the facility in the new year, with the project due for completion by the end of 2011.
Once complete the top class complex will be one of the finest indoor athletics arenas in Europe, with the aim of offering it as a training base for athletes competing in the London 2012 Olympics. It is also hoped that AIT will host the national senior athletics championships in 2012.
The 12,000 sq m facility on AIT’s main campus will comprise a six-lane athletics arena, a multi-sport arena, and an outdoor stand to serve the existing athletics track. The complex will also house changing room facilities, a gymnasium, high-performance training rooms, a recovery suite, medical centre, and support rooms.
Representatives of various soccer, athletics, rugby, and GAA clubs and sporting bodies were among those in attendance on Tuesday to hear AIT president, Professor Ciarán Ó Catháin, outline the ambitious plans for the facility, with reaction overwhelmingly positive.
Professor Ó Catháin described the facility as “a major boost to the educational and sporting infrastructure in the region”.
“It will help fulfil our ambition to be a college of choice, and also highlights the central role that AIT plays in the community. This facility will be available not just to our own students and staff, but also to the wider Midlands community,” he said.
He was confident that “it will prove particularly attractive to athletes competing on the national and international stage. With the proximity of Athlone to several airports, this will be a significant factor in positioning Ireland and the Midlands as a training base for Olympians competing in London 2012.”
The indoor athletics track and field auditorium comprises a 200m banked running track, spectator seating for 1,500 persons, as well as an elevated athlete warm-up area with an 80m sprint track. The separate multipurpose indoor sports auditorium will cater for basketball, futsal, volleyball, badminton, and multiple other sports. It too will have spectator seating for 1,500 persons, which can be increased to 3,500 spectators in concert setting.
The ambitious project already has the backing of athlete Eamonn Coghlan; various sporting bodies including Athletics Ireland, the FAI, the Irish Institute of Sport, and Westmeath and Leinster GAA; and Athlone Town Council.
Funding for the project, which is estimated to cost in the region of €10.5 million, is to come from a combination of AIT’s own generated income, Athlone Town Council, and the GAA. It is hoped additional funding will come from the National Lottery.
The building will primarily comprise a palette of three high quality materials: Portland concrete panel (similar to Athlone Civic Centre ), green copper panel, and thermally broken, solar glare-reducing double glazing.
The building incorporates all accepted passive and sustainable technology, including rainwater harvesting and high degrees of insulation.
The main athletics arena is naturally lit to reduce running costs, with lights used rarely. The auditoria are naturally ventilated, and the preferred ambient temperature of a sports centre (16 degrees celsius ) facilitates the lowest possible energy use for a building of this type.
The building will also be fully accessible for persons with disabilities.
