THE City of Ballarat\u2019s draft budget for 2022 to 2023 includes a boost to cricket and rugby club amenities at Delacombe\u2019s Doug Dean Reserve.<\/p>\n
A changeroom upgrade worth $700,000 would be built off the back of Doug Dean Stadium, adjacent to the oval, and include facilities appropriate for both male and female, junior and senior athletes within VRI Delacombe Cricket Club and Ballarat Highlanders Rugby Club.<\/p>\n
VRI\u2019s president Tom Nichols said the current shared clubrooms, which are about 40 years old, are no longer appropriate for teams to use and don\u2019t have female changerooms.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis upgrade will be massive for us. We currently have no room for female cricket at our club with the changerooms we have,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a female cricketer who can\u2019t get changed here, and we\u2019ve barely got female toilets, so new changerooms will open up a whole new avenue of cricket for us.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur end goal is to get junior girls\u2019 cricket into the club, and develop that into senior women\u2019s cricket.\u201d<\/p>\n
Highlanders vice-captain Ryan Spedding said the rugby club is keen to do the same and add junior and women\u2019s rugby to their offerings.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is something we\u2019ve wanted to do for a long time, but with one changeroom, we don\u2019t have space to support that, so once we have new facilities, we can grow,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
City of Ballarat deputy-mayor Cr Amy Johnson inclusive and accessible recreation facilities are \u201cgreatly deserved\u201d in Delacombe, one of the municipality\u2019s fastest-growing suburbs.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth clubs and their members have done their best over many years to make the most of a dilapidated building for changerooms, storage and social space,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey’ve been advocating for upgrades to their facilities for a long time and I’m so pleased to be supporting them to achieve this.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that active and engaged communities are healthier and happier. One of the key ways we can encourage participation is through enhancing our facilities and infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n
If the budget is approved by councillors in June, this dated building would be demolished. The project is expected to begin early next year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE City of Ballarat\u2019s draft budget for 2022 to 2023 includes a boost to cricket and rugby club amenities at Delacombe\u2019s Doug Dean Reserve. A changeroom upgrade worth $700,000 would be built off the back of Doug Dean Stadium, adjacent to the oval, and include facilities appropriate for both male and female, junior and senior […]<\/p>\n