2 min read

Victoria Invests $4 Million Aiming To Be Home Of Aussie Sports Tech

image

[mkdf_dropcaps type=”normal” color=”#f55549″ background_color=””]T[/mkdf_dropcaps]
he Victorian Government says the State aims to be the home of Australian Sports tech, creating up to 2000 new jobs in the sports technology field over the next four years.

Victoria has invested $4 million to create an Australian Sports Innovation Centre for Excellence to help local companies expand internationally.

Considered as Australia’s sports capital and the tech hub of Melbourne, the centre will be based in Cremorne, connecting to Victoria’s existing digital hub.

Australian Sports Technology Network (ASTN) Chairman, James Demetrio said the new centre of excellence would help the sector grow by focusing on attention and investment.

“For the first time Australia will have a dedicated centre of excellence where the sector can connect, celebrate, learn skills, initiate further exports and benchmark best practice in sports technology, innovation and digital,” he said.

The centre is set to be run by the Australian Sports Technology Network (ASTN), a sports tech and innovation industry body in Australia representing the interest of over 500 Australian-based sports innovation companies.

Well-known local operator ASX- listed Catapult Sports based in Prahan is among Victoria’s existing sports tech hubs, which has a range of products related to athlete performance enhancement such as video analysis and wearable technologies.

ASTN runs a start-up accelerator program providing advice, resources and connections for early-stage companies.

The new centre will provide co-working and office space for emerging and established sports tech operations.

Victorian Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and Digital Economy, Jaala Pulford, said the Government recognises the potential for the sports tech innovation sectors.

“With a rapidly growing tech sector and an established reputation as Australia’s sporting capital, Victoria is perfectly positioned to become a leader in the global sports tech industry,” she said.

Ms Pulford said more than 7500 people are employed in Victoria’s sports technology sector in developing company products in areas such as artificial intelligence, entertainment, digital, mobile, stadiums, significant events, wearables and esports.

The project is an example of the Victorian Government’s plan to target the growth in the tech sector as it recently announced a $64 million scheme to subsidise retraining of mid-career professionals to target shortages in tech skills.

It's free to join the team!

Join the most engaged community in the Sports Business World.

Get all the latest news, insights, data, education and event updates.