Stage two of the Ocean Road Sports Facility development in Dawesville has officially kicked off, bringing the Mandurah Storm Rugby League Club’s dream of a place to call home a step closer.
Key stakeholders broke ground at the major multi-purpose sporting facility in Mandurah’s southern districts on Friday.
Stage two will develop clubrooms, which will include two changerooms, an umpire’s changeroom, two universal public toilets, two storage rooms, a small kiosk, a first aid room, sports floodlighting, a meeting and a social space.
The shared-use facility is expected to be finished by September 2018.
The facility has been joint funded, with the City of Mandurah chipping in $1.49 million and a $200,000 grant contribution from the National Rugby League Footy Facilities Fund.
The National Footy Facilities Fund is an initiative of the National Rugby League which assists existing and new clubs to improve the quality, availability and standard of their facilities.
In late 2015 stage one, which includes the sporting and recreational oval, was complete.
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National Rugby League Western Australian general manager John Sackson said the game would continue to build its profile in the state and facilities like Dawesville’s would add value to the sport’s future.
He said attracting new participants to the game, particularly in growth areas like Mandurah, was vital to building strong, robust, resilient clubs.
He said the facilities would put Mandurah Storm Rugby League Club on the front foot to transition into a senior club in the future.
Mandurah Storm Rugby League Club president Jade Lund said she was stoked the reserve would soon be the team’s home turf.
The rugby league club will use the space during the winter season, which runs from April to September.
Students and residents in Dawesville and the southern districts will be able to utilise the community sporting facilities.
It will not only provide a long-term base for sports clubs to become established and grow, but will also deliver a central and flexible meeting space for community groups to operate.
Speaking at a breaking ground ceremony on Friday mayor Rhys Williams said the new facilities were a much-needed addition to the community in Mandurah’s southern suburbs.
“This is a really exciting moment for us,” he said.
Mr Williams said the provision of sporting facilities in the city’s southern corridor was “integral to building that sense of strong community”.
He said it was important that residents in the southern suburbs had a “chance to be able to enjoy the same sorts of facilities as those that live right across the city”.
“Sporting facilities and sport is so much more than just the chance for people to get out and be active. But we also know… that it’s about giving people that sense of belonging in their communities.”
Mr Williams thanked the current and previous council for their leadership in bringing the project to fruition.
He said a exciting partnership had been struck with the National Rugby League.
