Wallonia's multidisciplinary sporting centre of excellence:
the applications are being reviewed!
To improve training conditions for elite athletes in Wallonia, the Government has launched a call for applications to build a multidisciplinary sporting centre of excellence. 4 projects were submitted on 29 January and are currently being analysed and assessed, with a decision to be announced by 11 April at the latest.Among the objectives of the Recovery Plan, the Government has set the improvement of training conditions for elite athletes through the project to build a multidisciplinary sporting centre of excellence.
It must combine elite sporting practice, the training of promising athletes and sports professionals, medical and scientific research, and economic development. Ideally, the multidisciplinary sporting centre of excellence will usefully complement existing infrastructure that already meets the objectives set. It will involve either a single site or several complementary sites.
A priority investment programme was drawn up based on the needs expressed by stakeholders in the sporting world and the available budgetary resources.
To finance this project, the Government has set aside a budget of €91.3 million under the Recovery Plan, with the balance to be covered by the winning applicant(s) at a subsidy rate of 75%.
Project status
A jury made up of the CEO of the BOIC (Cédric Van Branteghem), a representative of INSEP France (Philippe BRULEY) and of Wallonie Entreprendre will carry out the qualitative assessment of the applications.
The Walloon Government will select the winning applicant(s) based on this assessment and the complementarity of the applications received in relation to the needs set out in the priority investment programme and the established objectives.
4 applications were submitted, covering the following investments:
- Cycling: indoor velodrome and mountain biking (planned at one site)
- Swimming: 50m Olympic pool and 25m pool
- Cycling and swimming infrastructure accessible to triathletes
- Artistic gymnastics: training centre for female and male gymnasts
- Tennis: indoor and outdoor courts
- Skatepark
- Competence and expertise centre for performance optimisation
- Recovery area
- Accommodation
The selection of the winning applicant(s) will be announced by the Government by 11 April 2024 at the latest.
Finally, technical files must be submitted by 31 October 2025 at the latest, and the provisional handover of the construction sites is scheduled for 1 November 2027.