Park Community Arena Announces Official Name
The Park Community Arena, developed by Canon Medical Systems UK, currently pending build completion on Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, has agreed its new title for the next decade. The innovative multipurpose community arena shall now be known as the “Canon Medical Arena” with immediate effect until 2033. With multiple disciplines hosted within the complex including 3-basketball court sport, hall, studio space, a classroom for the RESPECT program children and state of the art Medical Diagnostic Centre, the Canon Medical Arena is the first of its kind in the UK. Taking inspiration from the Sheffield Sharks of the British Basketball League, PCA Ltd was founded with the goal of acquiring and managing a facility aimed at becoming the definitive basketball hub within the city. This endeavour not only aims to fulfil the requirement for accessible and reasonably priced courts for every age bracket, from grassroots to elite players, but also envisions an arena layout capable of accommodating 2000 to 2500 spectators, adaptable based on the specific sporting event. High profile sporting clubs in the region have already made long term commitments to the Canon Medical Arena which in addition to the core sports of basketball and netball, will be a flexible mid-size venue for a range of events and sports. “This mid-size venue complements the city’s facilities, and now that we have such a strong brand name for the arena, we will continue to attract major events to Sheffield, and we look forward to driving the region’s sports and health economies respectively,” added Yuri Matischen, Director of Park Community Arena Ltd. The Naming Rights Agreement is part of the wider relationship for the development and construction of the building with Canon Medical Systems UK, adding to Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park’s health and wellbeing agenda, with the Canon Medical Arena uniquely including a much-needed Medical Diagnostic Centre. Access and control of the Medical Diagnostic Centre will be managed by our partner LivingCare, who will be responsible for all imaging and diagnostic services, supporting athletes of all abilities and NHS patients in its determination to increase patient access to health screening and disease prevention in the region. There is also the potential to alleviate capacity pressures on the NHS by helping with appointment backlogs. The Medical Diagnostic Centre will feature advanced Canon Medical imaging systems including AI-assisted CT and MRI, diagnostic ultrasound, digital X-ray, fluoroscopy and include consulting rooms and a minor surgery operating theatre. The quality and specification of the equipment, coupled with AI (artificial intelligence) led analysis within the facility will play a critical role for athletes, achieving the most up to date medical support in preventing injury and assisting with athlete and patient recovery. Mark Hitchman, Managing Director, Canon Medical Systems UK said: “We are delighted that the Park Community Arena, that we have developed and delivered, is to be officially named the ‘Canon Medical Arena’. The Canon Medical Arena is a pioneering carbon-neutral built sports, healthcare, and community facility with the aim of increasing affordable access to sports and community events. As well as providing a home for the B. Braun Sheffield Sharks and B. Braun Sheffield Hatters basketball, the Medical Diagnostic Centre will play a part in expanding healthcare capacity for local people with advanced healthcare facilities featuring the latest Canon Medical innovations. It will also be a hub for our research and development teams working in cooperation with neighbouring academia developing healthcare innovations for the future”. Sarah Williams, Director of Patient Safety at LivingCare said: ‘’LivingCare are proud to be bringing health care services to Sheffield in the ‘Canon Medical Arena’ this will not only will be an opportunity to improve the health of the community, but also create job opportunities and play a part in creating the medical workforces of the future through established links with the colleges and Universities.’’ The Canon Medical Arena will play a role in the community, maintaining an impact on the region via key health, sporting, and education programmes. The B. Braun Sheffield Sharks and B. Braun Hatters will be operating their delivery of B Healthy B Braun, and the Canon Medical supported RESPECT and RESPECT TOO programmes in schools as well as on site at the Canon Medical Arena. The new arena’s classroom facility can host up to 16 students as part of its re-engagement and study support activities. To date the sum of the combined projects have annually benefited over 4000 students since their inception and these are to be expanded as further opportunities are developed with Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park.
