We’ve officially opened the doors to a new coworking lounge and performance café at Steel City Stadium – a place designed for people who want to push ideas forward. Entrepreneurs, researchers, athletes and students now have a space to meet, work and collaborate right at the heart of Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park.
The innovation hub has been designed to act as the front door to the Park, providing entrepreneurs, researchers, athletes, and students with a dedicated space to connect, collaborate, and accelerate ideas. This follows our £10m+ investment into Steel City Stadium and is part of our wider plan to deliver up to 1 million sq ft of commercial space across Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park.
Already home to professional clubs such as Sheffield Eagles RLFC and Barnsley FC Women, alongside more than 30 businesses including Medilink, Ice Hockey UK, and UK NEQAS, Steel City Stadium is strengthening its role as a hub where sport, health, and enterprise collide to drive growth, opportunity, and innovation.
The opening ceremony brought together civic leaders, investors, and community partners. Guests heard updates from Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust on the £24m National Centre for Child Health Technology (NCCHT), which is due to open at the Park in 2026, and from CEO Sleepout UK, who confirmed the charity will host its first-ever South Yorkshire event at the Stadium in November 2025.
Adding weight to the occasion, the Rt Hon Richard Caborn, former Sports Minister and founding Chair of Legacy Park Ltd, reflected on how the project has grown from an Olympic legacy ambition into a living, breathing model of innovation. He described the Park as: “the only place in the world outside a host city to carry the Olympic legacy name, and proof that Sheffield can lead the nation in showing how sport and health can drive social mobility, education, and enterprise.”
The event concluded with a plaque unveiling, ribbon cutting, and networking reception.
“Sheffield is a city of amazing sporting efforts, and Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park is at the centre of this. The way the city and its partners have come together to create and grow the Park is a real statement of intent for the next 20 years.
But this has never been just about buildings. It’s about creating an environment where elite sport, world-class research, and grassroots enterprise meet. Already, this lounge is buzzing—athletes grabbing recovery meals, entrepreneurs pitching to investors, students working alongside researchers. That mix is what makes Sheffield special.”
“Through our partnership with SGI, we’re here to nurture start-ups and scale-ups, ensuring Steel City Stadium is more than just a venue; it’s an accelerator.
This is the front door to Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park. It’s where people arrive, connect, and collaborate. For founders, proximity matters. Having investors, mentors, researchers, and elite athletes on your doorstep creates an ecosystem that can take ventures from idea to impact, right here in Sheffield.”
“Sheffield Children’s is delighted to be bringing the National Centre for Child Health Technology to the unique and thriving ecosystem at Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park.
Collaboration is key to advancing innovation in pioneering ways, and we’re already seeing huge impact through partnerships with our new neighbours on the Park. When the NCCHT opens in 2026, we’ll be welcoming world-leading experts from across academia, healthcare, industry, and technology to work together in exciting new ways to revolutionise children’s healthcare.”
