New home for South Australian Sports Institute and UniSA sports science hub at Mile End precinct

A concept for the new South Australian Sports Institute’s new $88 million building designed by Cox Architecture, incorporating the University of South Australia’s sports science hub and near Adelaide's Mile End athletics and netball stadiums

The near-$90 million SASI (South Australian Sports Institute) centre, designed to give South Australian and locally-based athletes a competitive edge, opened at Adelaide inner-west suburb of Mile End in 2024.

The new SASI featured nation-leading spaces including:
         * strength and conditioning gym, fit with five lane synthetic turf testing space (three lanes 60 metres and two lanes 40 metres) and anti-gravity treadmill
         * environmental chamber for athlete testing under 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 the SASI rowing and canoe/kayak programmess.
         * physiology laboratory and athlete health rooms, fitout for allied health partners.
         * athlete recovery centre, with athlete nutrition zone.
         * biomechanics and exercise physiology laboratories fit for allied health partners and for students to learn about the role that forces play in movement and physiological responses to exercise and training.

The South Australian government invested $68 million towards the project that provides a world-class sport, research and education hub to high performance athletes, coaches and university students.

Project partner, the University of South Australia, contributed a further $20 million for capital costs,. The university’s sports science hub on the second floor had high performance sport science laboratories and teaching spaces for students doing undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. The University of South Australia already had a long association with the South Australian Sports Institute, through the university road cycling teams competing in the Tour Down Under.

The SASI building also was home to the state government’s office for recreation, sport and racing that was instrumental in the design and building, working alongside COX Architecture and Hansen Yuncken.

The new SASI opened as part one of the best high-performance sports precincts in Australia at Mile End, near Adelaide city centre. It was located with the pioneering National Centre for Sports Aerodynamics, upgraded South Australia Athletics Stadium and the South Australia Netball Centre.

South Australian government recreation, sport and racing minister Katrine Hildyard said the new centre would inspire future generations to become more involved in sport and physical activity: “Some of South Australia’s greatest athletes – Jess Stenson, Kyle Chalmers, Maeve Plouffe and Darren Hicks – developed their talent right here in Adelaide at South Australian Institute of Sport (based at Kidman Park).”