Work under way on new field of dreams
New Clyde Park field will rival the best in Australia
HOCKEY: Toowoomba will have a new state-of-the-art Games level facility by mid-December.
Refurbishments are currently under way on Clyde Park’s main field bringing it up to the standard of fields which were used at the Rio Olympics and will be used at next year’s Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
Toowoomba Hockey Association board independent director Craig Gooderham said the “new” Clyde Park will be one of the best facilities in Queensland and possibly Australia.
“I’ve played hockey in a lot of places and Toowoomba has always been held in high regard,” Gooderham said.
“This new field will only add to that reputation. It will be of the same standard as the fields at the Commonwealth Games next year and the surfaces they used in Rio.”
More than $500,000 will be spent on the new field with THA and Club Glenvale footing most of the bill.
“We are one of the few associations around that owns all of our facility which is great but it also means we are taking on all the associated costs,” Gooderham said.
“We received a $131,000 grant from Toowoomba Regional Council which we really appreciate and the rest comes from us.”
Gooderham said THA had planned to address a drainage issue during during the refurbishment but was also hit with an unexpected cost.
“Unfortunately when we were removing the artificial surface a lot of the shock pad came up with it which added to the costing of the work a fair bit.”
The shock pad is the layer between the hard base and the artificial surface the game is played. In the long term the new artificial will help reduce the costs associated with play.
“It’s water based but the new one will use less water but the standard of play is the same if not better.”
Gooderham said THA hoped to attract Commonwealth Games teams to Toowoomba for training camps ahead of next year’s event.