Liberal candidate for Nicholls Steve Brooks was left shocked by the facilities at Echuca Football Netball Club’s Victoria Park pavilion and has thrown his weight behind a sooner rather than later completion of the planned re-development of the sporting precinct.
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Mr Brooks met with club president Ash Byrne and members of the club’s executive, Mike Devlin and Justin Hadfield, to explain that he had recently spent time visiting clubs with similarly “poor facilities” within the Nicholls electorate.
While the funding of the re-development will be a joint state and local governments project, Mr Brooks said, if elected, he would be there to ensure that the club’s vision for Victoria Park was realised.
From an extremely well-known Cobram-Barooga sporting family, Mr Brooks said he knew just how important a vibrant football and netball club was to a town and how it further developed a sense of community.
The Victoria Park precinct has been a long-term council priority, Echuca Football Netball Club president Ash Byrne explaining that the latest concept plan would be delivered to the club at a meeting in the coming weeks.
There has been no timeframe put on the development, but the club’s base of operations has reached its use-by-date and is starting to become a blight on the club’s status within Goulburn Valley football ranks.
The multi-million dollar development would include a brand new, state-of-the-art club facility and also include the re-development of netball courts and change facilities.
At the moment the netballers, along with the club’s junior football participants, do not have the necessary facilities to conduct their training and match day programs — at least not at the level the club would like them to be.
The oval is also a bone of contention as, with such a large junior football contingent, junior footballers are forced to train at school ovals rather than at the Victoria Park facility.
It is expected that a second oval at the Victoria Park site would be part of the new concept plan to be delivered by the Campaspe Shire Council’s design team.
The latest concept plan being delivered to the club is the fifth or sixth version of the development, which has been delayed and altered due to the amount of activity in and around the site during the completion of the Dhungala Bridge project.
Discussions between the club and council on a starting date for what would be a six-month build are continuing, Mr Byrne hopeful of a September through to March timeframe.
The multi-million dollar commitment to the project by the Campaspe council is being matched by the state government — the final product a community facility which will service several organisations involved in activity at Victoria Park.
The Haw Pavilion is owned and operated entirely by the Echuca Football Netball Club, but the new facility will be a council-owned community hub.
Arrangements in regard to management, maintenance, rent and other associated costs with the facility have not been finalised between the parties.
Mr Byrne said the project was much more than just a new pavilion, with much-needed work on the oval, the surrounds, change room facilities — including those under the historic grandstand (which will stay) — and netball courts.
When Mr Byrne and football manager Simon Eishold met with councillors 18 months ago there was a strong suggestion that a secondary oval could bring a halt to the forced separation of the senior and junior entities.
There was a suggestion that a second oval could even be developed on the current site of the netball courts, with the new courts to be located at the Dhungala Bridge end of the oval. Another option is the former Echuca High School oval.
There are currently no toilet or shower facilities for the netballers or juniors.
Mr Brooks said Echuca, Cobram and Murchison were in a similar boat in regard to their facilities.
The Victoria Park site development has been more than decade in the making.
Suggestions from parties involved in the development suggest that the site could be well on its way to re-development within an 18-month timeframe.
Mr Brooks said he hoped that timeframe could be brought forward.
That would include the new netball courts and change facilities, a second oval development at the precinct and renovation of the grandstand — along with the change rooms beneath the grandstand.
Mr Brooks said he was aware that the re-development was a council priority, but said if he was elected he would push hard to have it completed in a timely manner.
“This is a real priority for this community,” he said.
Mr Byrne said the club had still not been informed of its cost structure in regard to rental costs and use of the new development.
“At the moment we pay the insurance on our building, which is $3500, along with all the maintenance and outgoings,” he said.
The football and netball club also pays a $25,000 fee rent on the Victoria Park facility, which considering the state of the precinct could be considered “overs’’ — to use a racing term.
The subject of nowhere for 200-plus juniors to train, due to the wear and tear on the main oval, is a constant conversation between the user grops.
There is one “office’’ — more of a store room — to service the facility.
Mr Byrne said Campaspe shire councillors Tony Marwood, Chrissy seller and Rob Amos had been strong supporters of the Victoria Park development and would be party to this week’s latest concept plan discussion.
Echuca’s location means it regularly has requests for use of its facilities, from groups such as NAB league teams Bendigo Pioneers and Murray Bushrangers.
Victoria Park is also home to a variety of state and national events, including the recent Over 60s tournament which attracted more than 500 cricketers.
“We quite often will get the Pioneers and Bushrangers wanting to play a game here. It is pretty embarrassing when they get here and see the facilities,” junior president Justin Hadfield said.
The dire condition, and lack of facilities, will be addressed once the development is completed — allowing the 1500 people who are regular users of the facility to do some in more appropriate surrounds.
The facilities certainly bely the status of Echuca Football Netball Club within the Goulburn Valley league.
Echuca is considered one of the best managed, off field, and best performed, on field, clubs in the competition.
Mr Brooks said the Federal Government was there to spend money on infrastructure and while this project was "all lined up“ he would be following its progress closely.
“Footy clubs in places like Echuca are a vital resource,” Mr Brooks said.
He said having modern facilities available to men, women and kids — to play sport — should be an expectation.
"Kids all want to play sport and at the moment Echuca doesn’t have the facilities to back it up,“ he said.
A major part of the club’s discussion with site developers, and council, will be the ongoing running costs of the new facility and agreement between user groups and councils on what they are getting for their money.
Echuca Football Netball Club had its own plans drawn up 12 months ago, but a price on the re-development has not been finalised.
Mr Byrne said the council-appointed consultant had done “five or six master plans”, but now that the bridge was finished the club was expecting to see more action.
“This is as close as it has ever been,” he said.
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