The PCYC has marked the official start of construction on its $23 million Wagga community, sport, recreation and youth centre with a sod turning ceremony on Friday.
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The new building, on the site of the former South Wagga Bowling Club on Fitzhardinge Street, is now on track to be completed in the final quarter of 2022 after breaking ground in the middle of this year.
The NSW PCYC, or Police Citizens Youth Club, is a charity that runs youth activities in a safe, fun and friendly environment and prevents at-risk young people from being stuck in a cycle of crime and disadvantage.
PCYC chief executive Dominic Teakle said it had been a long time since the plans for the centre were first exhibited in 2016 "but good things come to those who wait".
"It's going to be an amazing facility ... it will run a range of sports; anything you can play indoors, you will be able to play here.
"It's a great location and it will also be a complementary part of the sports precinct."
NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys said the new centre would help Wagga police expanded their programs with young people.
"This new facility will allow them to do more, attract more young people and run more sports," he said.
"It's a show by the government, by police and the PCYC to young people that they are important."
Wagga High School student Elvein Ibrahim, aged 17, spoke during the ceremony about how the PCYC's morning program had helped her make new friends after her family moved to Wagga from Iraq.
The state and federal governments contributed $10 million and Wagga City Council $3 million towards replacing the PCYC's Gurwood Street building, which was built in 1963.
"When you get a good plan and proposal, and it involves getting the best out of young people, you know it's worth going to Canberra and fighting for," Riverina MP Michael McCormack said.
Wagga PCYC president David Bardos said the organisation had been discussing the need for a new centre since 2004 and started serious planning work in 2012.
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