The Mandurah Mustangs Football and Netball Club will add another chapter to its already rich history when it kicks off construction on a new clubrooms facility at Rushton Park.
The club built the first ever football playing surface at the ground after members Dudley Tuckey and Bill Hough snr acquired the land rights in 1950, with the Mandurah Football and Sportsman’s Club calling it home for more than 40 years until they were moved off the lease in 1996.
The club has since shared the facility now called Bendigo Bank Stadium with Peel Thunder, but it hopes to regain its identity and secure its future by building its own standalone facility at the northern end of the oval.
The project encompasses a state of the art extension to the existing building on the northern end, which will include building a large function room along with upgrades to the adjacent change rooms.
The building will also house an office for mental health service Headspace, who will have full use of the function room.
While the Mustangs have driven the initiative themselves, in agreeance with Peel Thunder and the City of Mandurah, it’s the support they have received from community businesses that have made the dream more of a reality.
Past player and Mandurah Homes owner Todd Green reached out to the club, offering to take on construction of the facility at cost price, while North Coast Designs and LPD Surveys supplied their services at zero cost to the club.
Mandurah Mustangs building project manager Brant Sachse said the new facility would ensure the club’s future and independence.
“These clubrooms will allow us to stand on our own two feet for the first time in a long time,” he said.
“We just want to be on the same level as every one of our competitor clubs, and once this is all completed that’s going to be a reality.
“It’s also about giving our players and members a sense of belonging. For them to be able to take pride in the home of the Mustangs is important to us.
“Our message is simple - we just want to secure our future so our club’s history is celebrated and our kids can play local sport where their mothers and fathers have for the past 84 years.”
The Mustangs secured a $125,000 Royalties for Regions grant to kick-start the project early last year, and are currently in the process of applying for funding through the City of Mandurah and Department of Sport and Recreation.
They are also selling the new clubrooms’ foundation bricks as part of their own funding campaign.
To purchase a foundation brick or get behind the Mustangs’ funding mission call Brant Sachse on 0487 673 880.