Sporting facilities rebuilt stronger after 2022 floods

MORE than four years after the 2022 floods, rebuilt sporting facilities across the Tweed are helping restore community life while proving more resilient to future disasters, Tweed Shire Council says.

As part of its seven-week Facing the River flood resilience series, the council is highlighting how upgraded sporting venues have helped reconnect communities while incorporating improvements designed to better withstand future flooding.

The 2022 floods devastated sporting facilities across Murwillumbah and the wider Tweed, damaging clubhouses, changerooms, electrical systems and playing surfaces.

With support from the Australian and NSW governments, the council has since restored and upgraded a number of flood-affected facilities, using flood-resilient materials, elevated electrical systems and improved accessibility where funding allowed.

The council’s manager of parks and active communities, Murray Smith, said every project had followed the same “build back better” principles.

“Our sporting facilities program has reached clubs across the Tweed, and every upgrade follows the same principles: building back better, raising electrical systems above flood level, improving accessibility and creating more resilient spaces for players and communities,” he said.

He said those improvements were tested during Cyclone Alfred in 2025.

 

“When Cyclone Alfred came through in 2025 and these facilities bounced back within days, that told us we got it right.”

Among the completed projects are upgrades at John Rabjones/Les Cave Ovals and Barrie Smith Fields, allowing local clubs to return to improved facilities.

Hockey Tweed operations manager Matt Bartell said the floods had taken a heavy toll on the club.

“We lost the use of our facilities at a critical time and it had a real impact on our players, our volunteers and our community,” he said.

Bartell said the club lost about 200 members after the floods as participation declined.

But with new changerooms, a rebuilt clubhouse, grandstand improvements and a new car park now complete, he said the facilities had transformed the club.

“What council has delivered here is genuinely transformative,” he said. “This is a facility our club and this community can be proud of for years to come.”

Bartell said community sport also played an important role in supporting mental health by giving people a place to connect.

“I definitely think socially for mental health it’s really important,” he said.

“You’ve always got someone to pat you on the back and help you out. From the kids’ perspective, it’s somewhere they can come, play sport and spend time with their mates.”