A long-term vision for Wagga’s central sporting precinct, including the creation of a regional sports hub, has been applauded by one of the city’s key sports administrators.
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Wagga Council has developed its draft Bolton Park Master Plan which could be approved for public exhibition after Monday’s council meeting.
The $65 million dollar dream sets out what the future could look like, from improvements to Robertson Oval, the Oasis, the Jim Elphick Tennis Centre and Bolton Park, as well as a sports hub alongside the proposed new PCYC stadium.
“The great thing about all of this being a master plan is not looking at the next few years but what does it potentially look like in 20 years time, and being strategic about it,” Southern Sports Academy chief executive Mark Calverley said.
“It’s looking at where do we want to be in the future and how do we work strategically to get those things in place.”
The plan caters for state government recommendations for a regional hub in Wagga which Calverley says is an important piece of the sporting puzzle.
“For sports academies across the state, we see the hubs as critical to the pathways for regional athletes,” Calverley said.
“It creates a base for shared services, from high performance point of view and for participation sport, and it creates efficiencies across sports to work together in an aligned manner… having facilities available to all athletes right across the spectrum
“And even the ability to host major events within the region. So it ticks a lot of boxes for us, from an academy point of view.”
The Southern Sports Academy is based in the Jim Elphick Tennis Centre and also manages the venue.
The master plan caters for 10 courts to be converted to approved international-standard hard court surfaces.
It also suggests that a new amenities building be relocated adjacent to Robertson Oval and available for use by both venues during events. It also suggests the amenities in the middle of Bolton Park be moved close to the tennis centre.
Calverley says that big picture view is the beauty of the master plan for the block bounded by Edward, Tarcutta, Morgan and Fitzhardinge Streets.
He believes it will lead to much better results than a piecemeal approach to the variety of facilities and sports within the Bolton Park area which caters for everything from Australian rules, netball, cricket and tennis to gymnastics, basketball, swimming, croquet, and a skate park, not to mention new PCYC and sports hub buildings.
“Longer-term planning, while it might take some time to get there, at the end of the day the outcomes are better for the sports and for the users,” he said.
“I think that’s a big aim for the whole project – that within the master plan and the precinct, they can work together and interact better together. The linkage between the individual sites within Bolton Park is important and it’s that there’s a collaboration between sports and facilities.
“I think it’s essential for pathways for all sports that Academies are there and the sports hub is integral.
“But it’s also about the ongoing use of facilities for all users and all levels in the community.”
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