The St George Illawarra Dragons have officially opened the Bruce Gordon Centre, marking a defining moment in the club\u2019s history and a major investment in rugby league, community sport and high performance across the Illawarra.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, NSW Minister for Sport Steve Kamper and Federal Minister for Communications and Sport Anika Wells were among a long list of dignitaries on hand for the official opening at the University of Wollongong\u2019s Innovation Campus.<\/p>\n
Representatives from the Federal and State governments, Dragons shareholders and partners, members of the Gordon family, the Dragons executive and board, UOW delegates, plus Dragons staff and players witnessed the landmark moment.<\/p>\n
The Bruce Gordon Centre unites the Dragons\u2019 football, administration, community and high-performance operations in one purpose-built home, providing world-class facilities for the club\u2019s NRL, NRLW, pathways and community programs.<\/p>\n
The facility features two full-sized training fields, an elite gym and performance space, medical and rehabilitation areas, sports science facilities, administrative offices, educational and community spaces, and equitable facilities for male and female athletes.<\/p>\n
The project was made possible by significant support from the Australian Government, the NSW Government, the University of Wollongong, and the St George Illawarra Dragons, and recognises the extraordinary contribution of Bruce Gordon to the Dragons, rugby league, and the Illawarra region.<\/p>\n
Dragons Chairman Andrew Lancaster said the opening represented one of the most important infrastructure milestones in the club\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday marks a significant moment in the history of the St George Illawarra Dragons,\u201d Lancaster said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Bruce Gordon Centre gives our club a home that matches our ambition \u2014 not only for our elite teams but also for our pathways, staff, partners, supporters, and our community programs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are incredibly grateful to the NSW Government, the Federal Government and the University of Wollongong for their partnership and belief, which have made this possible. We also honour Bruce Gordon for his unconditional commitment to the Dragons and this region for the past 45 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Dragons have always had deep roots in the region, and the Bruce Gordon Centre strengthens that connection in a meaningful and lasting way.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will help us develop the next generation of rugby league talent, provide equitable facilities for our NRL and NRLW players, and create more opportunities for young people, particularly women and girls, to see a genuine future for themselves in sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Bruce Gordon Centre is a facility the whole region can be proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Australian Government was proud to support a project that would provide immediate and long-term benefits for the Illawarra.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is what rugby league is all about \u2013 community, a sense of identity and belonging, learning on and off the field and always looking to improve yourself right beside your teammates,\u201d Albanese said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur investment of $13.6 million to the St George Illawarra Dragons\u2019 Community and High-Performance Centre will provide a world-class facility for the Dragons to deliver the next chapter for the Illawarra.<\/p>\n
\u201cFifteen months ago, we backed this vision for the boys and girls of the Illawarra to be the next NRL and NRLW Dragons, and today we\u2019re proud to help make it a reality.\u201d<\/p>\n
NSW Minister for Sport Steve Kamper said the Centre would strengthen sport and community outcomes across the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis world-class facility gives the St George Illawarra Dragons and the community a purpose-built facility to train, develop and connect, strengthening the area\u2019s reputation as a rugby league heartland,\u201d Kamper said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy bringing together grassroots participation, pathways, education and high-performance programs under one roof, the centre creates more opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to get involved in sport and stay active.\u201d
Dragons CEO Tim Watsford said the Centre would transform the way the club operates.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe opening of the Bruce Gordon Centre is a major step forward for our club,\u201d Watsford said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the first time, our football programs, administration, community, pathways, partnerships, media and content teams will work from one integrated home.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat matters. Strong clubs are aligned, and this facility provides the environment to raise standards across every part of our organisation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are incredibly grateful to all funding partners and supporters who believed in this vision and helped make it a reality.\u201d<\/p>\n
Located at the University of Wollongong\u2019s Innovation Campus, the Bruce Gordon Centre will also strengthen the club\u2019s relationship with UOW and support future collaboration across education, research, sport science, community engagement and student opportunities.<\/p>\n
The opening marks the start of a new chapter for the Dragons, with the Centre serving as a permanent home for the club\u2019s elite teams, pathways programs, staff, members, partners and community initiatives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The St George Illawarra Dragons have officially opened the Bruce Gordon Centre, marking a defining moment in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":686732,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-686731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/686731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=686731"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/686731\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/686732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=686731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=686731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=686731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}