A Centre of Collaboration /

The state-of-the-art, multi-purpose Hutchinson Builders Centre, new home of the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys, was opened in May 2021.

The Centre is located beside Queensland Country Bank Stadium, in the Townsville City Waterfront Priority Development Area.

The Centre houses Cowboys operations and combines community areas, multi-sport high-performance training spaces, sports medicine and sports science laboratories and a community training field.

Overview

• Total project estimate: $40 million
• Location: Between Ross Creek and Saunders Street, Townsville
• Area: 5,000m² site on a commercial lease from Townsville City Council, with a full-sized community training field (approx. 12,000m²) on a user agreement with TCC
• Managing contractor: Hutchinson Builders
• Architectural services: Populous, in conjunction with Tippett Schrock Architects
• Completion: February 2021

Funding secured:

• $15 million grant – Federal Government
• $20 million loan – Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund (NAIF)
• $5 million grant – Queensland Government

Benefits

The Hutchinson Builders Centre, with the Cowboys as anchor tenant, will generate significant additional economic and social benefits for the region.

Sustainability of the North’s premier sporting club:

• A state-of-the-art, high-performance training environment, including heat training, with facilities reflecting the highly competitive environment of Australia’s national football codes
• Competing with an increasing number of NRL clubs investing in performance and training centres to help lift their athletic capability and to assist in the retention and attraction of players, partners, members and fans
• A once-in-a-generation opportunity to support the Cowboys’ long-term visions of competitiveness and sustainability
• Continued development of the Cowboys’ Gold Stars women’s rugby league team to eventually expand into the NRL Women’s Premiership

Community spaces:

• A hub for the club’s community team and Cowboys Community Foundation, delivering established community programs and initiatives that support our community and region
• Enabling the expansion of the club and Foundation’s commitment to the key areas of Indigenous Participation, Employment, Cultural Heritage and Community Development
• Centrally-located meeting space for program stakeholders, clients and community members for education, employment and training-based programs

Precinct revitalisation & collaboration:

• As part of the multi-user facilities, James Cook University will host a sports science and research facility at the site, boosting its diverse array of courses on offer.
• Creation of a medical ecosystem of co-located orthopaedic/sports medicine consulting, sports science and research facilities and rehabilitation services
• The adjacent community training field will be hired by the Cowboys through a user agreement with Townsville City Council, with an allocation of 100 hours per year for community events.

Destination for sporting teams & elite talent:

• A new destination for visiting teams and athletic group training camps
• Complemented by sports rehabilitation, science, research and medical services on-location
• A springboard for Townsville to attract interstate and Asia-Pacific based teams (professional and development squads) and athletes for various types of competitions and training camps

Economic contribution (source: AEC Group, 2019):

Construction of the facility is projected to deliver these economic benefits to North Queensland:

• $71.1 million output for local businesses (including $30.6M directly)
• $32.3 million in gross regional product (including $11.7M directly)
• 213 full time jobs (including 80 FTE jobs directly)
• $16.6M in wages and salaries (including $3.6M to households directly)

After one year of operation, from 2022 operations of the facility are anticipated to deliver further economic activity in North Queensland:

• $14M output for local businesses (including $6M directly)
• $7.2M in gross regional product (including $2.8M directly)
• 58 full time jobs (including 29 FTE jobs directly)
• $4.4M in wages and salaries (paid to households including $2.2M directly)