Clubs score with grants

LOCAL sports clubs will benefit greatly from significant infrastructure upgrades from City of Greater Geelong, following the latest round of Community Grants funding.

Cheetham Ward is home to a wide range of sports clubs and facilities, all of whom are doing important work in our community, bringing people of all ages together for sport and social connection.

Council recognises and support this by funding infrastructure upgrades, recently awarding more than $800,000 for clubs within the Cheetham Ward.

Geelong City Football Club (formerly Breakwater Eagles) has been successful in its application for $400,000, which will support the installation and upgrade of sports lighting infrastructure at the club’s home Howard Glover Reserve.

The project will see power supplied to the club’s soccer pitch, which caters to a range of teams from under sevens through to senior men’s and women’s teams.

This work will light the way for the future of the club, enabling players, coaches, umpires, and spectators to enjoy the facilities long into the evening.

But Geelong City Football Club isn’t the only group with a bright future ahead of it.

In December, Geelong Times published an article announcing a major upgrade for the Geelong BMX Club.

Geelong Thunder BMX was approved for $372,000 in Community Infrastructure funding to implement sports lighting around the BMX track at Grinter Reserve.

The installation of 200-lux lighting will allow the club to extend its evening training and host larger scale events at the Moolap track.

This is a fantastic outcome for the club, which commenced planning for the lighting back in 2023.

Also based at Grinter Reserve, Newcomb Power Football Netball Club has scored in this year’s round of funding.

The club has been awarded $32,269 for the construction of netball shelters.

Newcomb Power fields all grades of junior and senior netball, as well as an all-abilities team.

With this funding, the club aims to attract more players to the courts, while also ensuring the health and safety of players during the winter months.

It’s game, set, match for sports in Newcomb, with a third club successful in this year’s round of grant applications.

Newcomb Tennis Club Inc has secured $21,225 for the planning and design of court lighting at Ervin Reserve.

The planning will include a design concept for the lighting of five outdoor courts, as well as increasing the usage of existing infrastructure to extend the club’s operating hours.

The club has ten outdoor hard courts and enters teams in senior, midweek and junior teams of both the Summer and Winter pennants of the Tennis Australia Geelong competition.

We look forward to seeing the planning and design of the proposed lighting, which is sure to be a smash hit with club members.

In a ward with such a wide range of sports and clubs, it’s encouraging to see funding awarded to diverse infrastructure, supporting a variety of activities in our area.

Outside of the community grants funding, we have already celebrated the completion of new infrastructure in recent weeks.

Renewal of the second Richmond Oval netball court is now complete.

This is a huge win for East Geelong Football & Netball Club and will support the training of its 100-plus netballers heading into the new season.

Work on the oval’s playground is now complete, with equipment relocated and renovated following a car accident last May.

I am eager to share a full update on the significant works at Richmond Oval with you in the near future, in what will be another win for Cheetham children, families and sports clubs.

Cr Melissa Cadwell

Cheetham Ward,

City of Greater Geelong