Thunder aim for $4m new home
Hefty price-tag on future training facility
FOOTBALL: The South-West Thunder may have finally found their home in Toowoomba.
The club has set the ball rolling and plans are in place to build a $4 million state-of-the-art headquarters and training facility on Captain Cook Oval.
While the National Premier Leagues Queensland club operates out of the Football Queensland South West office on Brook St and plays at Clive Berghofer Stadium, club president Wade Eiser said the ambitious project would finally give the Thunder the sense of identity it so desperately needed.
“We need a home in essence. We need a facility for our juniors,” he said.
“Everyone is crying out for a sense of belonging and this is a way of doing that.
“It’s probably a $4 million project and we are seeking grants at the moment.”
The big spend comes as the club bids to remain competitive with Brisbane for the best football talent in the region.
Eiser expects the Thunder to grow and evolve into a state football powerhouse if it is able to entice players up the Range.
“We have lofty ambitions of winning the NPL in five years,” he said.
“We’re growing our market I suppose, trying to out-reach and compete with the likes of Brisbane.”
The base will serve as a training facility for the South-West Thunder senior teams, a primary playing ground for the club’s juniors and a venue option for all Toowoomba Football League games.
The club will continue to play its NPLQ games at Clive Berghofer Stadium for the remainder of its licence in the state football division, which expires in 2022.
“A grander example would be Essendon who have their training facility but play their games at the MCG,” Eiser said.
“Toowoomba Regional Council have approved it as part of their city master-plan.”
The project is set to be completed by 2019.