Home of the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys, the Hutchinson Builders Centre has picked up two prestigious awards at the Master Builders North Queensland Housing and Construction Awards.
The state-of-the-art Cowboys community, training and high performance centre next to Queensland Country Bank Stadium was named North Queensland Project of the Year and best sporting facility.
Delivered by managing contractor Hutchinson Builders and architects Populous, in conjunction with Tippett Schrock Architects, the Centre combines community areas, multi-sport high-performance training spaces, sports medicine and sports science laboratories and a community training field on a 17,000m² parcel of land.
Cowboys CEO Jeff Reibel said the awards are a win for North Queensland.
"The Hutchinson Builders Centre impresses in so many ways – it’s extremely functional as a multi-purpose space and is a striking architectural landmark for our city," he said.
"This modern, world-class sporting complex will ensure the Cowboys have the best facilities possible for training and development, but it is also a place of inspiration for our community and visitors, including elite athletes and sporting teams.
"We're extremely proud of our new home and the team at Hutchinson Builders who are long-term supporters and partners of the Cowboys, and we thank all of our project stakeholders for helping make this dream an award-winning reality."
Judges were unanimous in their decision to name the Centre as the North Queensland Project of the Year, which was announced at an awards ceremony in Townsville last week.
They described it as a "highly impressive build with strong attention to detail," where the complex "delivered on time and on budget, and is a one-off for Townsville."
The Hutchinson Builders Centre brings together the Cowboys' core functions across administration, hospitality, recreational, gym and office facilities over two levels.
The facility also houses commercial tenants on its top floor, including James Cook University, Dr John Maguire from Townsville Orthopaedics & Sports Surgery and North Queensland Physiotherapy Centre, with room for additional sub-leased tenancies.
Cowboys Leagues Club's Podium Cafe also offers food and coffee in a café dining setting open to the public.
Officially opened in May 2021, the project secured funding from the Federal Government and Queensland Government, a loan from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) and a long-term development lease with Townsville City Council.
Around 213 jobs were created during the construction period with more than $71 million of work generated for local businesses.
The Hutchinson Builders Centre will now compete as a regional winner at the Master Builders Queensland Housing and Construction Awards to be held in October.
The theme for this year's awards was, built to rise above.
