In the first of what promises to be a line of new work opportunities in the Brazilian sport infrastructure sector over the coming years, the state government of Espirito Santo has just signed an agreement with the Brazilian Ministry of Sport to host an official Rio 2016 Olympics training centre.
The new arrangement covers the provision of over R$16 million for the centre, which will be the first in Brazil dedicated exclusively to high performance athlete development for the Rio 2016 Games. The facility, located near the coast in the state´s capital Vitoria, will initially specialise in six Olympic disciplines: rhythmic gymnastics, judo, taekwondo, handball, swimming and beach volleyball. A planned second phase of development will expand the centre to also include boxing, badminton and artistic gymnastics.
Importantly for Australian specialists seeking possible work opportunities, the centre will feature state of the art Olympic equipment as well as top level coaches and support staff capable of providing world´s best practice.
Located just north of Rio de Janeiro state, Espirito Santo is making a range of investments in sporting infrastructure in a bid to attract teams and athletes ahead of both the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2014 World Cup, despite the fact that Vitoria was not chosen as one of the 12 Cup hosts.
Similar training centre projects using the same funding and management model are also being pursued in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul.