THE prayers of the Riverina athletics community have been answered with the sport's showpiece facility in Wagga set for a much-needed multi-million dollar upgrade.
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Wagga's Bill Jacob Athletics Centre at Jubilee Park will undergo a $4.1 million upgrade courtesy of partial funding from the NSW Government's Multi-Sport Community Facility Fund.
Little Athletics NSW chief executive Rebecca Shaw was in Wagga on Wednesday for the announcement, where it was revealed the construction of a 400-metre synthetic track would be the centrepiece of an overdue upgrade.
Along with the construction of a new running track, facilities for field events will also be upgraded along with the addition of a new warm up area and drainage and landscaping.
Shaw was thrilled to announce what she conceded was a much-needed upgrade.
"Absolutely. We were only discussing (on Tuesday), I think this is a conversation about 10 years in the making, to get the synthetic at the Bill Jacob Athletics Centre so it is a really exciting time," Shaw said.
"Athletics is really strong in this region. We have two centres that operate out of that venue and it is one of very few in NSW that have that usage and participation rate so we're very excited that it's come to fruition."
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Shaw believes the upgrade will allow the centre to cater for even more larger scale carnivals.
"It certainly allows us to bring more major competitions to Wagga and allows them to compete on a top standard, which obviously our young athletes are all thriving to have that opportunity to be able to record their best times," she said.
"It's not only the synthetic track but also the improvements to all the field facilities as well so it's not just out track athletes, it will be all our athletes that benefit from it.
"We'll be able to bring our zone and our regions here on a really regular basis and also state level competitions. We have previously brought our state combined event to Wagga and plan to do so again next year, it will allow us to bring a greater range of state events to the Wagga region and Riverina and it's actually really exciting for NSW as a whole to have another venue of this quality in the state."
The NSW Government grant will contribute $2.7 million to the project with Wagga City Council to cover the remaining $1.3 million.
As part of the project, there will be a 30x70 metre warm up area to the west of the track.
There will be two long-triple jump runways, four pits, a steeplechase pit, three shot put throwing circles, two javelin runways, a discus throw cage, shared discus, hammer throw and high jump area,
Shaw expects the upgrade of the running track from grass to synthetic alone to have a big impact on the sport in the Riverina.
"It means we can have more competitions, with it being all-weather. They're less likely to have to cancel their events on a weekly basis and obviously that has huge impact on retention," she said.
"It also allows more schools to access it for their various events, all the way up to their regional events, so it brings more people into the Riverina and Wagga as well.
"We expect to see some great growth in the numbers here as a result of this upgrade."
Wagga City Council strategic asset planner Ben Creighton expects the majority of the work to be completed during 2023.
The works will naturally impact both school and Little Athletics carnivals but Creighton explained they are looking into temporary solutions.
"With athletics we're looking at options at the moment around other open spaces which we could potentially line-mark into a temporary athletics facility in the short term," Creighton said.
"It won't be of the same standard as what's at Jubilee Park at the moment but it's really around making sure that we can continue that sport for the period of time while the construction takes place."
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