Funding secured for $9 million Equex multipurpose stadium

Funding for the project is now locked in, with the federal government to announce on Monday it will contribute $4.4 million to its construction through the National Stronger Regions Fund.

The multipurpose stadium will feature three indoor sport courts, suitable for basketball, netball and futsal, and will be able to seat up to 3100 people for concerts and 1200 for conferences.

Construction will begin early next year with the facility likely to be completed in the first half of 2017.

“Council will now move to go out to tender with the intention of starting construction on this project at the earliest possible time,” Wagga mayor Rod Kendall told the Advertiser.

“Design drawings have been undertaken on this project and the project is shovel-ready.”

Member for Riverina Michael McCormack, who lobbied for the project to get the green light for funding, said the new arena would “re-establish Wagga’s reputation as the City of Good Sports” and was needed to replace the “aging” Bolton Park Stadium.

"It just doesn’t have the capacity to pull those big crowds and to have those big conventions,” he said.

“While it will still serve the city well for certain activities, it’s 38 years old now and needs replacing with something modern and state-of-the-art.”

Council had been tossing up between the Equex site and a major redevelopment of the Bolton Park Stadium to serve as Wagga's primary multipurpose facility prior to the announcement.

Cr Kendall said the Equex precinct’s proven ability to handle large crowds efficiently got it over the line.

“It’s a site that can cater for large-scale events and there’s also the potential for future expansion on this particular site,” he said.

“It’s also fairly central to the city.”

Now council has elected to forge ahead with the Equex proposal, it will now scale back its proposed redevelopment of the Bolton Park Stadium. That issue is likely to be debated at council’s January meeting.

“There’s fair support for making sure that’s refurbished in a proper manner so it becomes a second multipurpose venue in the city – a smaller venue capable of taking business events, same as this one,” Cr Kendall said.