ADELAIDE, South Australia (29, January 2021) – Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partner, Bridgestone, has joined the City of Salisbury in Adelaide for the naming of the Bridgestone Athletics Centre as part of its series of community-led projects in the lead up to the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Set to be opened later this year, the Bridgestone Athletics Centre is a brand new state-of-the-art multi-disciplinary facility designed to inspire and encourage rising athletes with the ‘Chase Your Dream’ message.
With the project nearing completion, today saw the City of Salisbury and Bridgestone, a global leader in providing sustainable mobility and advanced solutions, unveiling the facility’s visual branding of the Bridgestone Athletics Centre and the commencement of pouring the recycled rubber running surface.
Bridgestone Athletics Centre sits on the 6.8-hectare Bridgestone Reserve, which was returned to the community following the cessation of tyre manufacturing in Australia. A vibrant public park was opened in 2017 on the site before the athletics facility was proposed and commenced in late 2019. Bridgestone Australia applauded the investment in the former factory site and is proud to put its support behind the concept and become the naming rights partner in line with the vision of both the company’s ‘Our Way to Serve’ initiative, and its Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partnership.
“We’re honoured to be the naming rights partner of the Bridgestone Athletics Centre and partnering with the City of Salisbury to inspire and encourage the next generation of athletes with the message of ‘Chase Your Dream’,” said Bridgestone Australia & New Zealand Managing Director, Stephen Roche.
“The announcement of the naming of the Bridgestone Athletics Centre holds a lot of meaning for us. We have a proud heritage of making contributions to society, and as a global company, Bridgestone is committed to delivering social value as well as customer value. Our partnership with the City of Salisbury is a great example of how Bridgestone is giving back to the community.”
City of Salisbury Mayor Gillian Aldridge OAM welcomed the investment from Bridgestone, and highlighted the significance the new state-of-the art facility to the future of sport in the region and the shared values underpinning the partnership.
“Bridgestone Australia has strong history with Salisbury and this investment further demonstrates its commitment to supporting the community to be active. Since the announcement of the Bridgestone Athletics Centre development, our clubs have seen significant increases in participation and Bridgestone Australia’s support will help to grow this further.”
Team Bridgestone Australia athlete Cathy Freeman says the Bridgestone Athletic Centre will be an enormous inspiration for aspiring athletes to get involved and chase their dreams.
“I think it’s important that we give as much encouragement and support as possible to our next generation, and give them the confidence to chase their dreams,” Cathy Freeman said.
“Having the right facilities plays a huge part in supporting up-and-coming athletes, and the Bridgestone Athletics Centre is such a good example of Bridgestone working with the community to not only encourage and inspire aspiring athletes, but provide benefit to everyone.
“The Bridgestone Athletics Centre also has a big focus on sustainability, with recycled rubber being used in the running track, an energy efficient lighting system being installed and the site playing a major role in water harvesting” she added.
The Bridgestone Athletics Centre is one of several community-led projects Bridgestone Australia has been involved in, in the lead up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, held in Bridgestone Corporation’s home city. Working with Team Bridgestone Australia athletes Cathy Freeman, basketballer Joe Ingles, surfer Connor O’Leary, wheelchair tennis player Heath Davidson, and swimmer Ariane Titmus, the tyre company is encouraging young Australians to ‘Chase your Dream’ with initiatives like workshops, inspirational talks and the revitalisation of accessible sporting spaces.
Bridgestone’s local Olympic and Paralympic Games activations are underpinned by the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiative, called ‘Our Way to Serve’, which aims to enhance the way people live, move, work and play through three priority areas: mobility, people, and environment.
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About Bridgestone’s “Our Way to Serve” initiative:
“Our Way to Serve” aims to inspire Bridgestone teammates to continue doing great work, by continuing to do good for the world. “Our Way to Serve” organizes Bridgestone’s CSR efforts under three Priority Areas: Mobility; People; and Environment. “Our Way to Serve” reflects the company’s longstanding philosophy of “Serving Society with Superior Quality” and a recognition that the best companies not only perform for their stakeholders, but also contribute to a better world.
From our beginnings in the 1930s, our founder, Shojiro Ishibashi, believed that a business that contributes to society would do well by doing good. Today, this is more important than ever, with mounting social and environmental challenges threatening the planet and the quality of life of all people living on it. Now, as a global leader, the Bridgestone Group is committed to serving society by improving access to smart, safe transportation, building healthy, resilient communities, and minimizing our environmental impact. Looking forward, we remain committed to driving innovation around mobility, people, and the environment – so that we can continue to serve society with superior quality for generations to come.
About Bridgestone Australia Ltd.:
Bridgestone is a global leader in tyres and rubber, and is building on its expertise to provide solutions for safe and sustainable mobility. In Australia, Bridgestone Australia Ltd. offers a range of services and solutions to all segments of the Australian market to deliver social value and customer value. Bridgestone’s extensive range of quality tyres is complemented by the provision of mechanical and fleet services through the company’s nationwide retail network of Bridgestone Select and Bridgestone Service Centres, mobile service provider Lube Mobile, and the manufacturing and sale of quality retreads through Bandag Pty Limited. Bridgestone offers a diverse product portfolio of premium tyres and advanced solutions backed by innovative technologies, improving the way people around the world move, live, work and play.
About Team Bridgestone and Team Bridgestone Australia:
Athletes are the driving force of the Olympic Games and represent the heart of the Olympic Movement. They are also Bridgestone customers who put in countless hours on the road, day in and day out, traveling to and from training and competition, no matter the distance or weather conditions. In the lead up to the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, Bridgestone is proudly supporting athletes who embody the company’s “Chase Your Dream” message and will serve as the face of Bridgestone activities as Team Bridgestone.
Bridgestone Australia is proudly partnering with Australian Olympic Snowboarder and rising star, Tess Coady, to share the ‘Chase Your Dream’ message through the lens of ‘resilience’, building on the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) driven projects leading up to and during Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.
About the Bridgestone Corporation Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partnerships:
Bridgestone Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, proudly became a Worldwide Olympic Partner in 2014 and a Worldwide Paralympic Partner in 2018. The company has global rights to the Olympic and Paralympic Movements through to 2024, a period that includes the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, Beijing 2022 and Paris 2024. Bridgestone activities related to its Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partnerships are guided by a global “Chase Your Dream” message, which intends to inspire people to overcome obstacles and persevere in pursuit of their goals. Additionally, these activities advance the company’s efforts to help create a more inclusive and sustainable society in alignment with its global corporate social responsibility commitment, Our Way to Serve. As a worldwide partner, Bridgestone has marketing rights that include its full range of tires, tire services and selected automotive vehicle services, self-propelled bicycles, seismic isolation bearings, and a variety of building and industrial products.
