GFF backs the best of NZ Sport with NZ$100,000 donation and a further NZ$1,000,000.00 donation

The announcement of a significant (funding package/donation) from philanthropist businessman Owen Glenn on behalf of his Glenn Family Foundation has been described as a critical boost to the efforts of the Millennium Institute of Sport & Health to ensure New Zealand’s high performance sportspeople have the necessary facilities to keep pace with the rest of the world.

Glenn Family Foundation has provided the seed funding for research by the Millennium Institute into its next stage capital development requirements, financial modelling and a future capital fundraising campaign.

The contribution was enthusiastically welcomed by the Institute’s CEO who is also Chair of the Olympic Committee, Mike Stanley. “This is great news for New Zealand sport,” he said. “This support will enable us to focus the attention of a project team on investigating the best model to use in the next development phase of the Institute. In just six years the Institute has become a key part of New Zealand’s sporting landscape and is pretty much at capacity. Also in those six years the rest of the world has moved on with both facility and scientific developments and we need to keep up.”

The Millennium Institute is now a high performance base for swimming, athletics and weight lifting, and several other sports also use it for preparation of their elite athletes. In addition, the New Zealand Academy of Sport North Island and AUT University’s Institute of Sport Science and Recreational Research NZ are based there, creating an extensive knowledge base within the facility.

Mr Stanley said the funding Mr Glenn provided through his foundation had also allowed for an objective assessment on the best “Centre of Excellence” model for New Zealand, especially in terms of facilities and service, and also allows us to explore financial modelling options.

The Institute worked closely with its key partners, AUT University and NZASNI and its stakeholders during the process and Mr Glenn’s contribution allowed for the much-needed research and planning to be fast-tracked.

“The Millennium Institute is already contributing enormously to the high performance of New Zealand’s top athletes. I believe we need to ensure that we are utilising the best research and training techniques available. And, of course, we need to provide our current and future crop of athletes with the right training environment to ensure they’re ready to compete with the world’s best” said Mr Glenn. “I’m looking forward to the performance of our athletes in Beijing and am determined to make sure that as a nation we have the ability to compete with the best going forward.”

The expansion of the Millennium Institute to include a National Sports Performance Institute is well underway with the commencement of site works to begin in October 2010. Owen Glenn and the Glenn Family Foundation have pledged NZ$1 million to the expansion project and with this donation, together with the support of the New Zealand Government, the National Sports Performance Institute will secure its position as a world-class athletic training facility. Keep watching this space for more information on this exciting development in New Zealand sporting history.