02.04.12

Avanti Drome - Home of Cycling - the National Cycling Centre of Excellence Welcomes Naming Rights Partnership.

The Home of Cycling Charitable Trust is proud to announce a ten-year naming rights partnership with Sheppard Cycles, with the National Cycling Centre of Excellence velodrome to be called the Avantidrome.

“We are delighted with this significant new partnership with Sheppard Cycles and their Avanti brand – a name synonymous with New Zealand cycling. Sheppard Cycles has an outstanding reputation as a New Zealand-founded leader and innovator across all disciplines of cycling and we know that their investment into the Home of Cycling will bring enormous benefits to both organisations, to New Zealand and to cycling at all levels” says Home of Cycling Chief Executive Geoff Balme.

John Struthers, Sheppard Cycles founder and Managing Director says, “Avanti is a home grown New Zealand brand with global ambitions, and like the Home of Cycling, we pride ourselves on business excellence and to community partnerships. By aligning our brand name with the Home of Cycling velodrome and the National Cycling Centre of Excellence we’re not only making a further commitment to cycling in New Zealand, we are also making a commitment to the region and to the wider community. It’s a very exciting opportunity and we are looking forward to the partnership”.

The Sheppard Cycles sponsorship is a significant milestone in the on-going fundraising programme that sees the private sector partnering with local government, central government and community funders.

The Home of Cycling will be both a community facility and part of a network of high performance facilities in New Zealand aimed at providing New Zealand athletes with the best facilities to ensure future high performance success.

BikeNZ, its staff and national teams will be based at the Avantidrome along with its extensive range of community programmes.

The ñ28.5 million facility will begin construction in the coming months, with significant funding already contributed by Sport New Zealand, Waikato Regional Council, Waipa District Council, Rotorua District Council, The Lion Foundation, First Sovereign Trust and the Perry Group. Fundraising is on going.

Last year, it was announced that Perry Group had committed significant funding towards the Home of Cycling. The Sheppard Cycles partnership does not change Perry’s commitment to the project and they remain a significant funder.

About the Home of Cycling Charitable Trust and the Avantidrome:

The Home of Cycling Charitable Trust is the owner and manager of the National Cycling Centre of Excellence velodrome facility soon to be under construction, now to be called the Avantidrome

The Avantidrome will be the main facility at the National Cycling Centre of Excellence, the Home of Cycling

BikeNZ and it’s programmes for development and high performance for all forms of cycling: track, road, mountain bike and BMX will be based at the Avantidrome - Home of Cycling

The Avantidrome will feature a world-class 250 metre UCI Category 1 track, over 2000sqm of space for sports performance specialist tenants, a café and will be linked to world-class facilities for mountain biking, BMX, road and trail cycling

The Avantidrome will be completed and open in late 2013

AVANTI RIDERS