18 February 2009

Chinese Olympic officials see Sheffield’s finest sports facilities

Senior representatives from the Chinese Nanjing Olympic Centre (NOC) spent a day in Sheffield visiting the city’s prestigious sports venues.

The delegation, from the capital of Jiangsu Province, was on a fact finding mission to assess venue use and the highly successful Fitness Unlimited brand operated by Sheffield International Venues (SIV) which has around 14,000 members.

The visit was part of ongoing discussions between SIV and NOC about opportunities to develop the Fitness Unlimited brand in China.

Steve Brailey, chief executive at SIV said: “The health and fitness market in China has huge potential with market penetration a small fraction of that achieved in either Europe or the USA. There are growing numbers of middle class Chinese people with disposable incomes and there is a recognition that a more westernised and affluent lifestyle is increasing levels of obesity.”

During their visit the group toured SIV’s award winning venues including Ponds Forge International Sports Centre and Hillsborough Leisure Centre which operate the Fitness Unlimited scheme.

Fitness Unlimited operates at four SIV facilities - Concord Sports Centre, Don Valley Stadium, Ponds Forge International Sports Centre and Hillsborough Leisure Centre.

As well as offering state-of-the-art gym facilities, classes and tuition at Concord and Hillsborough, members can train on the premier athletics track at Don Valley and swim in the technically advanced, Olympic-sized pool at Ponds Forge International Sports Centre that hosted the Olympic GB swimming trials.

The Nanjing Olympic Centre includes a 70,000 capacity stadium, an 18,000 capacity arena, Olympic swimming and diving facilities, ice rink, sports hall, golf driving range, indoor and outdoor tennis and basketball courts.