Football Wagga wants to capitalise on population growth by building new facilities in growth areas.
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In upcoming days, the association will release its 10-year facilities plan, outlining a proposal to cater for the population spike in Wagga suburbs north of the river, including Estella and Borooma.
“We’re very interested in developing soccer facilities north of the river,” association president Erwin Budde said.
“There will be a lot of people living there in the next 10 years, population modelling shows there’s a real growth area there. We’d like to capitalise on that.”
Budde refused to pinpoint possible locations for new grounds at this stage, prior to the publication of plans.
Football Wagga also identified a need to improve the quality of existing grounds across the region.
“For Football NSW, the number one priority, regarding facilities, is the playing surface,” Budde said.
“After the season we’ve had it’s clear we need to continue upgrading playing surfaces.”
It’s a code traditionally played through winter in Australia, but summer versions of the game have been gaining traction, with the Wagga outdoor summer competition reaching capacity prior to kick-off.
“People want to keep on playing soccer through summer,” Budde said.
“I’m hearing that across the state, people can’t get enough of their soccer, there’s a real demand for a certain type of the game. We want to have the ability to host games over that period.”
The plan includes a high-performance complex, the synthetic ground, slated for a vacant lot at Rawlings Park and a greater ‘home’ presence for clubs like Tolland at Kessler Park.