Shire makes moves towards new stadium

THE Surf Coast Shire is clearing the decks to build a new stadium in Torquay North, allocating funding in future budgets and anticipating good news from state and federal grants.

At their meeting on Tuesday, councillors resolved to carry out a number of actions aimed at making the Surf Coast Multi-Purpose Indoor Stadium shovel-ready.

A study presented to the shire in May 2016 found at least one and possibly two indoor courts needed to be built in Torquay immediately to meet growing demand for basketball and other sports.

As a result, the shire proposed earlier this year building an extra three courts to the south of the existing stadium at Surf Coast Secondary College and towards the netball courts in Banyul-Warri Fields.

Councillors resolved on Tuesday to start detailed design for the stadium, engage independent legal and planning advisers, as well as committing $500,000 from the present budget and pre-allocating $250,000 from the 2018/19 budget.

Cr Martin Duke said the stadium would be well used from day one.

“It’s time to build a new facility and it’s time to get on with it.”

The project will cost $13.5 million, with the shire to commit $10 million ($2.9 million in developer contributions and no more than $7.6 million in council contributions) in its 2018/19 budget. This figure assumes the shire will be successful in its $3 million application in August to the state government’s Better Indoor Stadium Fund, the outcome of which is “expected imminently”.

Regardless of the outcome, Tuesday’s meeting also saw the council resolve to make a $5 million application to the federal government’s Building Better Regions Fund, though that application puts the shire’s contribution at $7.75 million for a total stadium cost of $12.75 million.