Sport
11 July, 2024
Eagles land big grant in their nest to build new facilities
Dunolly Football Netball Club are set to be the big winners from the first round of the Victorian Government’s Regional Community Sports Infrastructure Fund, securing $1 million of funding for new facilities this week. The Central Goldfields Shire...
Dunolly Football Netball Club are set to be the big winners from the first round of the Victorian Government’s Regional Community Sports Infrastructure Fund, securing $1 million of funding for new facilities this week.
The Central Goldfields Shire Council assisted with the application on behalf of the club, as well as the Deledio Reserve Pavilion Committee, and will be a big boost for the Eagles, who will have the chance to move into the senior football top four tomorrow if they can beat Carisbrook.
The project will see the construction of a new sports facility which is fully compliant and female friendly, which will include four change rooms, umpires’ rooms, a trainers room, first aid room, storage facilities, kitchen and a deck with an accessible ramp.
The project cost in the application is $2.5 million, but a $1 million grant was requested, and the full amount has been received.
News of the grant this week has come after a long battle for the club to upgrade their facilities.
Earlier in the year, council applied for funding through the Federal Governments’ Play Our Way Fund, which saw an application of $2 million on top of a promise by the council to contribute $500,000 to the project.
That came after two failed attempts in 2022 to improve the facilities, but were dashed after election results went against the Liberal Party in the federal election, with Deledio Reserve promised $3.6 million of funding if they were elected, while later in the year, the Liberal-Nationals state party promised a $1.5 million injection into works at the ground, but were again ended through Labor’s victory in that year’s state election.
Recent years, however, have seen improvements made incrementally.
A new scoreboard was installed in 2023 at the ground, as part of the first improvement made to the ground.
Yesterday’s announcement continued a successful 2024 for the Dunolly Football Netball Club and Deledio Recreation Reserve committee, having gained access to their new netball facility after two years of working on $970,000 of funding from the State Government and Central Goldfields Shire Council.
Member for Ripon, Martha Haylett, spoke proudly of the Dunolly Football Netball Club getting the funding they have longed for.
“The Dunolly community have wanted this project for many years and it has been a pleasure working with the dedicated committee of volunteers to get this funding across the line,” she said.
“The Deledio Pavilion is the heart and soul of the Dunolly community. This funding will help make locals’ dreams finally come true and give the town a sports pavilion they can be proud of.
“I committed to get this project done and am so proud to be part of a Labor government that has delivered for Dunolly.”
Tomorrow’s meeting with the Redbacks will be one of the most important days from a football perspective for the Eagles in years.
With five games to go, a win would add to the Eagles’ scalps in recent weeks, which has included top four teams Trentham and Lexton.