Waikato/Bay of Plenty is the preferred tenderer for a new national cycling centre of excellence.
SPARC's High Performance Board has selected the region ahead of Palmerston North and Auckland, which were short-listed from seven regions.
There'll be an international-standard indoor velodrome and community facilities with the government making a $7 million cornerstone investment in the centre, which is planned to be built in Cambridge in about two years.
SPARC, BikeNZ and Waikato/Bay of Plenty will start negotiations soon and if agreement can't be reached SPARC has the option to negotiate with one of the other short-listed tenderers.
The successful tenderer will be announced on May 6.
