New pavilion sets stage for a competitive football season from the Portarlington Demons

THE Portarlington Football Netball Club will move into its newly upgraded pavilion this week, following the completion of a much-needed redevelopment of its ageing facilities.

Identified for upgrade in the City of Greater Geelong’s 2022 masterplan for the Portarlington Recreation Reserve and funded as part of the Victorian government’s $3.15 million commitment to the project, the club will now have access to more space, improved change rooms and, for the first time, a first aid room.

The completion of the upgrades also means the new facilities will be in use when the Demons welcome Newcomb to their home ground for their BFNL Round 3 Easter clash on April 19.

Portarlington president Stephen Cogger said the club, which is now 150 years old, was happy with the progress that had so far been made on the reserve’s masterplan.

“We’re probably 50 per cent of the way through the items that are required… so we’ve got a fair way to go, but it’s all in the pipeline and we’re confident we can achieve it, but it’ll take time.”

He said the pavilion upgrades will help to bring the club “from the 19th century into the 21st century” as it looks forward to a big season, and will give the Demons a new edge when recruiting future players.

The pavilion upgrades follow the delivery of new electronic scoreboards to the site’s football ground and netball courts last year, jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and the replacement of the fencing around the reserve’s main oval.

The Sproat Street site’s car park and entrance has been tapped for the next stage of redevelopment works at the reserve, with works expected to begin at the end of the 2025 football season, and a contract has this week been awarded to BIS Infrastructure for the delivery of new cricket training nets.

The club is now turning its attention to upgrading the site’s tennis and netball facilities, and is hoping to generate funding to cover the necessary costs over the next 12 months.

“Netball’s growing at a rapid rate in Portarlington and St Leonards, and we’ve got more numbers in netball than we’ve ever had,” Mr Cogger said.

“We’ve only got two courts, so we struggle to find training facilities.

“We’re hoping we’re getting funding from council, but also we rely on our community and our governments to assist us in those processes.”