25 March 2014
Avantidrome officially opens in April with Royals in attendance
The Home of Cycling Charitable Trust is thrilled to announce that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, as well as
Olympians will be attending the official opening of the Avantidrome, New Zealand’s National Cycling Centre of
Excellence, on Saturday 12 April.
Gold medallists and Cambridge residents Sarah Ulmer and Rob Waddell will host the royal couple at the Avantidrome.
Other Olympians attending the opening include fellow World Champions; Lisa Carrington, Mahe Drysdale, Eric Murray,
Hamish Bond, Joseph Sullivan as well as the newly crowned team sprint track champions; Ethan Mitchell, Sam Webster and
Eddie Dawkins.
The opening will be a three hour extravaganza to celebrate cycling. Doors open at 11am with the ceremony beginning at
midday. The Duke and Duchess are expected to be at the Avantidrome from 1.30-2.30pm.
Tickets from are available for the public to purchase from midday at www.Ticketek.co.nz / 0800 842 538 on Wednesday 26 March.
Geoff Balme, CEO of Home of Cycling says it will be a fantastic event for the region to celebrate with the royals.
“We’re thrilled to officially open this world-class facility to the community in such stellar company. It reinforces the
fact that the new Avantidrome is a facility of national significance that puts Cambridge and the Waikato on the map as a
key area of sporting opportunity and excellence.
“Providing programmes that cater for all ages and abilities at the grassroots level, right through to being the new home
for BikeNZ’s elite riders, including newly crowned World Champions; Ethan Mitchell, Sam Webster and Eddie Dawkins, this
spectacular facility will continue to draw people into the area and put our riders up on the world stage.
“TriNZ and their High Performance programme have also begun to use this facility as their base.”
Geoff says that the official opening, just a few weeks away, has locals extremely excited with everyone involved wanting
it to be a huge success.
“We’re expecting tickets to sell out for the opening due to the popularity of seeing the royals and our elite
sportspeople all in one place. There’ll be plenty of entertainment for guests to enjoy, including track cycling from New
Zealand riders who will be going to the Commonwealth Games, cycling demonstrations and a parade of cycling champions.”
Geoff says none of this would have been possible without the support of the Avantidrome’s key backers who have assisted
in its four year development.
“We are incredibly grateful for the support we have received for this $28.5m facility. These contributors have shared
our vision of creating an asset that will benefit members of the community and the wider region for years to come.
Funding came from a partnership between central, regional and local government as well as community trusts, corporate
sponsors and around 200 philanthropic sources.”
The Duke and Duchess were official ambassadors for Team GB at the London Olympics and witnessed the British men's
pursuit team smash the world record in their qualifying round and then go on to win gold. Their moment of elation was
captured as they celebrated with a hug, affection rarely seen from royals in the public domain.
ENDS