Local racing club gets green light for grandstand alterations

GEELONG Greyhound Racing Club will receive upwards of $80,000 in state government funding to alter its grandstand, accommodating more to families and the all-abilities community.

The Allan government announced at the beginning of the month Geelong Greyhound Racing Club, located at Beckley Park in Corio, would share in more than $973,000 in grants for 14 country race clubs as part of its Regional Customer Facilities Program.

Geelong Greyhound Racing Club’s $83,000 in funding will create a safe play area for children, as well as build an additional outdoor deck to provide people with reduced mobility better access to the club’s grandstand.

Racing club manager Brian Parkinson said the club felt extremely grateful to receive the funding.

“Pre-Christmas we put an application in for a large decking area that will merge two existing decks to effectively wrap one deck around the entire front of the venue,” Mr Parkinson said.

“Further to that, we also got enough funding to put in a children’s playground nearby to that area. The idea is to open up that whole area both internally and externally, to really maximise interactions between our patrons.

“We’ll also heavily market a community engagement process with all of our local sporting clubs in and around Corio.”

Clubs successful in their funding applications will be able to direct the funds towards any project that will improve the standard of public race facilities, enhance accessibility, and encourage community use.

The approved improvements in Geelong will also allow an extra 20 community organisations to use the facilities each year, catering for more public functions while also increasing capacity for race day patrons.

Acting minister for racing Enver Erdogan says the state government wants to develop facilities that support participation and inclusion of the broader community in regional racing clubs.

“These grants will give regional communities and racegoers access to top-notch facilities that go beyond race days and can be used for cultural events and community celebrations.

“The racing industry in regional Victoria generates $1.17 billion for the Victorian economy and helps support 9,000 full time equivalent jobs in the regions.”

More information about the Geelong Greyhound Racing Club can be found at geelong.grv.org.au