Rosellas home ground at Lethbridge set to light up

A FOUR-year campaign by the Lethbridge junior footy club for lighting and irrigation upgrades to the town’s main oval has been successful, with all levels of government committing funds for the project.

Last week the State announced it was putting $250,000 towards the works, with a further $100,000 coming each from the Federal government and Golden Plains Shire.

Sharon Boyd said the announcement of complete funding for the project was “fantastic” and there would be a lot of positives to come out of the upgrades.

“We’re really happy for the Rosellas, also the cricket club gets to benefit, and also the wider community,” she said. “This will increase our numbers, hopefully, and we can train under lights.

“There’s not a lot of sporting outlets for kids. There’s junior footy, junior cricket, we have karate and cubs, and that’s about it within the region. Otherwise you have to go into Bannockburn.”

As part of the works the main oval will get four lighting towers of 50-lux each as well as an irrigation system under the turf. The lighting alone will bring the ground up to AFL training standard.

After a lengthy campaign to get the works underway, Ms Boyd said the go ahead for the upgrades was reward for effort.

“There were certainly times where we thought it wouldn’t happen,” she said. “But there’s been a lot of persistence from the club and that’s made it possible.”

Member for Buninyong, Michela Settle noted that persistence when announcing the State’s quarter-of-a-million-dollar contribution.

“It was really soon after my election when Sharon rang up my office and said she wanted me to come see the club,” she said. “I came out here and saw how many kids were on the oval, you saw what the lighting was like.

Ms Settle also said the Lethbridge project ticked a lot of boxes.

“It’s a really great and valid project and as the council have explained, the $200,000 they had with the Federal money and their money wasn’t quite enough to do it to full AFL standard,” she said.

“From the State government’s perspective, we are really keen to fund projects that are really ready to go. We’re in this very challenging time, so to keep things moving is very important.”

During last year’s Federal election campaign, both Liberal and Labor candidates pledged $100,000 to the project.

That money, along with the Golden Plains Shire’s contribution of $100,000 was enough to do some work, but not everything the club was seeking.

Mayor Cr Owen Sharkey said the extra money was a huge amount for a club like the Lethbridge JFNC.

“We were here last year talking $100,000, then it got doubled by the Federal announcement, and now this extra $250,000 really puts this club in good stead for the next generation,” he said.

“Councils such as ours are left with making tough decisions. When our budget is only so big we have to look for alternative avenues and one is to advocate to the likes of Michaela.”

There’s no firm start date for the works yet, but it’s hoped they’ll be complete by, or just after, the start of the 2021 football season.

The Rosellas are sitting out the current season due to the pandemic.