Sporting precinct plan vote
THE draft of the multimilliondollar Drysdale Sporting Precinct Masterplan could soon be put to the public, if Geelong council endorses the proposal tomorrow night.
City of Greater Geelong councillors will vote on releasing the $11-12 million draft plan for eight weeks of community consultation.
The original masterplan was adopted in 2011 and the $6.7 million stage one of the masterplan was completed in February 2018.
But council said a revised masterplan was required to “account for the new Drysdale Bypass alignment, new and emerging trends in local sport and changes to land uses in the precinct”. The key differences between the original masterplan and the revised draft include removing the council operations depot and the inclusion of a running circuit.
“The number of rectangular fields for sports such as soccer, touch rugby ... have been reduced to better align to current and future demand,” a council report for the new draft masterplan explains.
The draft masterplan said the previously proposed synthetic track athletics facility could still be accommodated within the site, but was only recommended to be developed once a significant demand was demonstrated.
“No demand was demonstrated for either tennis or outdoor basketball courts, hence the recommended provision of dedicated netball courts only due to the existing constraints of the netball facilities at the Drysdale Recreation Reserve,” the report said.
But Drysdale Soccer Club’s Steven Fleming said while he appreciated the council’s regard to the future growth of soccer in the region, he had “significant concerns” about the omission of a synthetic pitch. “It misses the critical opportunity to support yeararound activity and participation in the face of varying weather patterns,” he said.
The revised masterplan includes: THREE additional full-size soccer fields lit to competition standard; AN ADDITIONAL multipurpose oval; PAVILION centrally located within the soccer/cricket/netball sub-precinct; TWO netball courts with capacity for expansion to four courts in the future; RECREATION opportunities including a 2.5km crosscountry/ParkRun loop; PLAYGROUND and recreation node with shelters, picnic facilities and public amenities; and, FIVE formal carpark areas.
The State Government has committed $5 million for implementating the work detailed in the masterplan, with the council apportioning $150,000 of this funding in the 2019-20 Budget.