£7m ‘sports hotel’ to be added to Imago Venues portfolio

Loughborough University is creating a dedicated four-star Elite Athlete Centre and Hotel (EAC) comprised of 44 bedrooms for athletes and fitness enthusiasts. The facility will be run by Imago Venues, Loughborough University’s dedicated hotel, conference and events provider. About £1m of the EAC’s build cost has been funded by Sport England as part of UK Sport’s £200m masterplan to host a decade of the finest sporting events in the international calendar, starting in 2020. It will provide a sports hotel that promotes ‘rest, relaxation, and the pursuit of excellence’. Set in the heart of Loughborough University’s sports facilities, the high-performance environment aims to offer an aspirational space for athletes, businesses and fitness enthusiasts. With 20 specially designed altitude rooms, eight dedicated accessible bedrooms, a nutrition lounge, café and athletes’ relaxation area and seminar space for 30, the inspirational facility is a European first. Packages will include access to the UK’s leading coaches, sports scientists and support staff. John Steele, Loughborough University’s executive director of sport, said: "The Elite Athlete Centre is an outstanding addition to Loughborough's already excellent sporting heritage and combines with existing facilities to provide a truly world class venue for high performance athletes and teams." The altitude rooms allow athletes to “live high whilst training low”. This prepares their bodies for competition by improving their oxygen carrying ability as well as maximum oxygen take-up. In additional to the eight designated wheelchair accessible rooms, all of the EAC’s 36 other bedrooms can be converted to accessible rooms. The Nutritional Lounge and café will provide hospitality services with health, wellbeing and training in mind. Quiet Zones and Passive Zones will provide areas to relax or take part in activities such as yoga and pilates, whilst the Active Zone will include a climbing and bouldering wall. The flexible and scalable seminar space for up to 30 athletes can be expanded into the Nutritional Lounge, providing opportunities for larger events. Imago Venues and Loughborough University are developing a host of packages available to athletes, teams, businesses and individuals that include use of the EAC, as well as the University’s other world leading sports and event facilities. These can be combined with leading coaches, sports scientists, nutritionists and experts in the physical and mental needs of competitive activity. The EAC will open in Autumn 2018 and bookings and enquiries can be made from November 2017.