Maynooth University is embarking on the construction of a dedicated €19 million Sport Science Centre which will include facilities to promote health and wellbeing on campus.
The University received planning permission from Kildare County Council in late 2024 for a three-storey extension to its Phoenix Sports and Restaurant Building. The new extension will include:
- a state-of-the-art student gym
- a sports / multi-purpose hall
- changing facilities
- sports science research and teaching laboratories
- flexible office space for sports science staff
MU hopes that the provision of these extensive modern gym facilities will encourage students to visit the gym regularly, improving their physical fitness, reducing stress levels and promoting mental wellbeing.
The plans, drawn up by a team led by Reddy Architecture and Urbanism, envisage that the gym will be prominently located at the front of the new building, “making sports activities visible and promoting student health and wellbeing. The entire ground floor of the extension will be devoted to the gym and changing facilities, providing students with a much-needed, flexible and functional space”.
According to Michael Rafter, Director of Estates at MU: “Our primary goal remains to provide modern university facilities for our students to enhance their wellbeing and positive experience while at Maynooth University, and we believe this scheme will provide a significant and much needed contribution to student and campus life.”
The new centre will also provide students and staff with enhanced educational opportunities in a purpose-built facility with a modern and comfortable teaching environment. The new Sport Science Department and the Sports Office will both be located in the complex, fostering collaboration and mutual support between the two.
It is anticipated that work will start on the new building in summer 2025, and it will open its doors to students and staff in January 2027.
Welcoming the planned new centre, Dr Jack Hickey of MU’s Department of Sport Science and Nutrition, said: “It will provide a bespoke space for teaching and research with labs for testing. It will be a dedicated space on campus where we can do that research."
The new building will also house office space, with capacity for future expansion for the Department of Sport Science and Nutrition, which was established in 2023. The Department is growing rapidly to meet the needs of its students, providing Bachelor’s degrees in Sport Science and Health and Food Science and Human Nutrition as well as the Business with Sport Science degree, run in conjunction with the School of Business.
Prof Tim Thompson, MU’s Vice President Students and Learning, says: “A strong sports offer can really enhance the student experience, as well as provide wider teaching and learning opportunities. We're looking forward to working with our students and wider university community to further embed sports and physical activities into our Maynooth experience.”
He said MU’s new sports strategy has been designed to form part of the wider health and wellbeing ecosystem in the national context. The plans are aligned with the National Sports Policy 2018-2027 and the UNHCR Sports Strategy 2022-2026.