Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, the UK’s only life sciences park dedicated to innovation in sport, health and wellbeing, has unveiled a refreshed brand identity and striking new website.
The brand refresh project has been driven by a desire to reflect the vision for the next phase of development of the Park, while communicating its commitment to becoming a catalyst for strong partnerships and transformational progress across all aspects of education, research, commerce and society.
It is also in recognition of the 10th anniversary of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which was the motivation behind the Park’s creation and the focus of a star-studded gala dinner on 9 September, celebrating the wide contribution that Sheffield made to the success of London 2012, and the unique legacy being delivered in the city.
The Park’s new brand idea—Made to Move—is a compelling summation of its mission to capture the spirit of the Olympics by inspiring action and expressing ambition, and its belief that sharing knowledge and expertise across a carefully-curated environment is the key to creating a stronger, healthier and more active future for everyone.
The Park has retained its signature green, alongside a more powerful and diverse colour palette, and has introduced a dynamic ‘S’ ring symbol as its logo, which represents the symbiosis between science and sport and is also a nod to its location in the Steel City.
Further evidencing Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park’s commitment to collaboration and inclusivity, the new website provides visitors with an intuitive and seamless customer journey with a careful balance of useful information combined with motion graphics.
Chris Low, Chief Executive at Legacy Park Ltd, commented:
“This brand refresh signals that Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park is moving into an exciting new phase of development, which is especially timely in the year we mark the 10th anniversary of London 2012.
“The new brand retains the focus on the values of aspiration, inspiration and inclusivity that run through everything we do, while showcasing the innovative, world-class ecosystem being created here.
“This marks a turning point in Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park’s story as we begin to realise the longer term ambitions of economic regeneration and job creation in the east end of Sheffield.”
Since its inception in 2014, Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park has secured over £100m of investment to deliver several key projects, namely Oasis Academy Don Valley – a coeducational school which admits students between the ages of 2 to 16 years, UTC Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, which specialises in computing, health sciences and sport science, and Sheffield Hallam University’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre, a state-of the-art, research and design facility aimed at transforming lives through innovations that help people move.
In 2018 leading real estate developer and investor, Scarborough Group International (SGI) acquired the Community Stadium site from Sheffield City Council and, in 2020, concluded a wider agreement with Sheffield City Council to deliver the next phase of the Park.
Last month, SGI announced the Practical Completion of its new Community Stadium, which provides 23,000 sq ft of high-quality, flexible commercial space, alongside the 3G pitch and covered grandstand.
SGI is now consulting on its pioneering masterplan which will comprise up to 1m sq ft of commercial space across an 80-acre zone around the established facilities, and will completely transform the eastern quarter of the city into a vibrant, world-class community for the health, wellbeing, sport and activity sectors, creating up to 5,600 high-value jobs.
Among the next wave of occupiers to have a presence on the Park is Sheffield Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which has recently benefitted from the Government’s Levelling-Up Fund to deliver the National Centre for Child Health Technology; a ground-breaking facility that will deliver the world’s most advanced integrated healthcare system for children.
Canon Medical Systems has recently started construction of its new Park Community Arena, due to open in 2023 as the UK’s first affordable carbon net-zero built sports, healthcare and community arena featuring an integrated Medical Diagnostic Centre. Park Community Arena will be the new home for Sheffield Sharks and Sheffield Hatters professional basketball teams and will also be available to wider sporting, education, and community organisations.
Nicola Bulley, Group Head of Marketing & Communications at SGI, said:
“Over the course of the next generation, Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park will deliver better healthcare outcomes, education opportunities, jobs, and economic growth on a local, national and global scale so we wanted to create a brand that was reflective of this ambition but that also felt relatable and inclusive.
“Following multiple workshops and stakeholder interviews conducted by our creative agency, Loaf, we have developed a really strong brand that will help us nurture positive long-term relationships among our growing community and realise our ambitious plans.”
