The wheels are in motion for one of the biggest upgrades at King George Oval since the grandstand was built in the 1970’s.
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Blayney Shire Council have submitted an Expression of Interest (EOI) under the NSW Government Regional Sports Infrastructure Fund for the King George Oval Refurbishment 2020 project.
Costing an expected $1.9 million, the refurbishment includes the much desired construction of separate home and away male and female change rooms at a value of $500,000.
Chairman of the Blayney Sports Council, deputy mayor David Kingham, said that the remaining funds would be spent on turning King George into a regional sporting centre of importance.
“We’re being left behind by centres like Bathurst and we can’t accept that, we have to move forward and build the facilities that will bring athletes, men and women, to Blayney,” he said.
Cr Kingham emphasised that this was not a funding application as such, it was purely to see if what was proposed after six weeks of talks with sporting groups and the community would pass muster.
“This is the first stage in the process and if accepted we will have to present the state government with a full business case for the use of the grounds.”
Cr Kingham said that the current parking arrangements would have to change, and that the new plan included a substantial modification to the existing parking situation.
“We can’t have vehicles driving in between the grandstand and the oval when we build the new change rooms, it’s just not acceptable.
“We will be looking at putting in a new parking area to the south of the stand and incorporating the netball courts in what will become an entire sporting ground, with at least an extra 120 car parking spots in that area,” he said.
Cr Kingham stated that the $1.9 project, if approved, would also include improvements to the field surface that will allow it to be used even in the wettest of months.
“Council has a great plan for draining water from the ground when it’s wet and storing it so that it can be used when it’s dry,” he said.
Of most importance, Cr Kingham said, was improving the facilities for female participation in sports.
“The plan also includes new change rooms for female referees,” he said.
Mark Logan
Started working in newspapers in the 1990's in the darkroom of the Pastoral Times in Deniliquin before moving to Millthorpe in 2003. Soon after arriving I started as a photographer at the CWD. Now a journalist at the Blayney Chronicle.
Started working in newspapers in the 1990's in the darkroom of the Pastoral Times in Deniliquin before moving to Millthorpe in 2003. Soon after arriving I started as a photographer at the CWD. Now a journalist at the Blayney Chronicle.
