Those are about to go in at Equex Centre as part of an upgrade ahead of the NRL game between the Canberra Raiders and Penrith Panthers in May next year. 

That road trip to Sydney, which started at 4am and finished 18 hours later, illustrates why WRL’s partnership with Wagga Council is working. Both parties were at Equex on Friday morning to showcase the $400,000 in improvements.

It includes expansion of seating at both ends of the grandstand and a new block of female changerooms and amenities to be built between the grandstand and the existing dressing rooms.

The improvements are funded by state government grants which Council applied for and partnered with WRL to deliver. 

“We’re very excited,” Wagga Rugby League chairman Warren Barclay said.

“For the past 10 years we’ve been out here building slowly the ground that you see here today.

“When we first arrived it was like a cow paddock in a sense and we had to start from scratch. We didn't really know where we’d end up. To where we are today, 10 years later, to the stage where it’s one of the best grounds in southern NSW, we’re really excited and very happy.” 

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The current project will also see canteens on the eastern hill being pushed back up to allow more spectators on that side of the ground. 

Wagga Council’s strategic asset planner, Ben Creighton, expects the ground capacity will be around 10,300. 

“We’re looking at approximately 680 seats and that will be permanent so that will add to the value of the venue, moving forward for Group Nine games and all the other sports that are held here,” Creighton said. 

Creighton said the Raiders have been impressed with the condition of the ground and Council is more than confident that with ongoing maintenance the surface will be sublime in May. 

He praised the partnership with WRL saying they have delivered much of the infrastructure at the venue.

“It’s fair to say Wagga Rugby League is putting a lot of in-kind contribution, a lot of materials and labour force into the development which is allowing such a successful project,” Creighton said. 

“WRL has a great history of delivering really successful projects and where this project is headed at the moment, it looks like it’s going to be extremely high quality and deliver a great result for the community.”

Barclay said they leapt at the opportunity to stay involved in the evolution of Equex.

“We see a sort of an ownership to this place even though Council of course owns it,” he said. “

“But this is our home. And we’re keen to build on that. Council see it as a way of getting the best bang for their buck. We want to deliver that because the more that we can save, the more we can put into it, the more the community has and the better off everyone is.”

Tickets for the Raiders game will go on sale at 9am next Thursday morning and will be available through the Raiders website or at Oasis Aquatic Centre and the Wagga Visitors Information Centre. 

The long-awaited arrival of an NRL competition match in the city, on the back of the sell-out City-Country game in 2015, provides the impetus for improvements that then benefit the local community.

But Barclay said the game is also a reward for grassroots efforts, going back a decade. 

“We see it as a pat on the back not only for Wagga Rugby League but we’ve had a lot of volunteers, businesses and entities who have given up their time and finances and even some of the goods by donation, to get where we are today. To me it’s just reward for all the hard work we’ve put in,” he said.

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