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The Australian Clay Target Association (ACTA) conference centre is set to boost Wagga’s economy by bringing never-before hosted events to the city.
The type of events which can be hosted within the centre are endless with conferences, concerts, end of school assemblies, graduations and expos just some of the events expected to be hosted.
ACTA National Executive Officer Tony Turner said there is already a number of tentative bookings for graduation functions from schools for September and November.
“The Association will now seek to professionally market the conference centre through tourism groups whilst developing a website to show the magnificent features of the conference centre,” he said.
“The centre will be open for bookings immediately. Clubs, community groups, corporate organisations, schools are just some that have enquired about the facility. Following Easter the Association will be in a position to show people through the complex.”
Construction manager Kerry Pascoe said the centre will have “real and substantial benefits to the city.”
“The potential for this building is unlimited,” he said.
“It doubles the capacity of anything else in regards to conferences coming to the city.
“It’s exciting to work on the largest facility of its type in the city which in the long term will bring real economic benefits.”
The benefits of the build
The ability to host large conferences in Wagga is now a reality with the recent completion of the conference centre at the Australian Clay Target Association (ACTA) grounds on Copland Street.
A venue of this size has never been available in Wagga, hampering the city’s ability to host large conferences and events.
The upgrade, worth $7.3 million, has transformed the grounds into a state-of-the-art facility.
ACTA National Executive Officer Tony Turner said the upgrade gives the sport a promising future while also providing the city with a venue it has needed for years.
“The building provides a bright future for the sport in Wagga with the facilities rated by Olympic Gold medallist Russell Mark as the best in the World outside the USA,” Mr Turner said.
“This type of facility has been talked about for more than 30 years in Wagga.
“It is now a reality with the facility able to seat 650 for dinner, and up to 1200 theatre style.
“It is a multi purpose venue that has many possibilities to host large events of all descriptions.”
The conference centre includes a cafe, car parking and a verandah over the southside of the building which overlooks the shooting traps.
Inside, the floorplan is very flexible with a series of dividing walls able to be used to adjust the size of the space to suit each event and the number of people.
This feature is supported by:
- Pascoe Constructions
- Flick
- Supermix
- Advanced Comm
- Care Mechanical
- Bodels Plumbing
- Absolute Mesh
- Riv Plaster Works
The project was managed by local construction company, Pascoe Constructions.
“It has all the latest in audio-visual technology,” Pascoe Constructions owner Kerry Pascoe said.
“There are large tv screens, hearing loops, and a system that allows for the shooting at the main traps to be broadcast back into the club house.”
All these features have been used by the Australian Clay Target Association just weeks after the build was completed with the National Trap Championships wrapping up on Saturday March 24 after a week of shooting.
The event attracted thousands of the best shooters from across the country and the world.
All these shooters were able to benefit from the new upgrades with thousands of over 50s the next group to use the upgraded facility.
The Stone the Crows Festival will use the grounds over Easter for their annual event. The conference centre has allowed the festival to add large-scale concerts to the program.
While benefits from the upgrade are being felt immediately, Mr Turner has nothing but praise for Pascoe Constructions and the team of subcontractors who worked on the centre.
“Without the support and cooperation of Kerry Pascoe and the contractors who worked on the project we would still be in the construction phase,” Mr Turner said.
“ACTA member and registered builder Don Power took on the position of project manager for the ACTA and he work tirelessly with Kerry to achieve a great result for the Association.”
The upgrade was funded by a $5.5 million grant from the NSW coalition government with the announcement made on the January 2 last year.
The impressive, quick construction process
It took just six months for Wagga’s largest conference centre to be transformed from plans to reality thanks to the team at Pascoe Constructions.
Business owner Kerry Pascoe was excited to build the largest conference centre Wagga has seen and produce a final product the client is happy with.
“I work closely with the client, between us we work out the finishes of the building and the colour schemes,” he said.
“I work things out to suit the client and make sure we’re working to budget.”
With any large construction job comes challenges but this is part of the reason Mr Pascoe enjoys taking on large projects.
“I enjoy the challenge of commercial work and this job had its challenges and that’s my main forte,” he said.
“A lot of the original materials changed to bring the building back in line with the budget.”
The positive economic impact the conference will have on Wagga is already being felt in the city with local trades employed for the construction process.
“It’s my policy that we use local contractors,” Mr Pascoe said.
“95 per cent of the project has been completed using local suppliers and local contractors.”
During construction there were more than 100 tradesmen working on the project and around 20 to 30 on site each day.