The Mandurah Storm Rugby League Club and South Mandurah Cricket Club unveiled their fresh new Ocean Road Sports Facility digs at a ribbon cutting ceremony on Monday afternoon.
Both local clubs – which will share the facility along with the South Mandurah Junior Football Club – were in attendance as City of Mandurah Mayor Rhys Williams and National Rugby League (NRL) WA operations manager Tony Crowe officially opened the new complex.
Located in Dawesville adjacent to Ocean Road Primary School, the ground will house the rugby league club during the winter while holding cricket matches throughout the summer months.
The high-quality home boasts floodlights for night games and training sessions, along with a kiosk and clubroom facilities which will allow the clubs to hold significant events.
The Storm kicked off their time at the complex with a bang when they held the NRL WA junior preliminary finals at the ground over the weekend, with more than 2000 people flocking to the Dawesville ground from the metropolitan area.
Club president Jade Lund said the new space gave the Storm the opportunity to expand its identity within the community.
“Having this new ground is going to make such a big difference to our club – it already has,” she said.
“We’ve done it tough for so long but now we really have a space that we can own and we couldn’t be more thankful to NRL WA and the City of Mandurah for making it possible.
“It was absolutely incredible to be able to host the preliminary finals over the weekend and we’ll look to be doing even more of that in the future now.”
The facility was made possible thanks in part to a $200,000 grant from the NRL Footy Facilities Fund, the first of its kind in Western Australia.
Mr Crowe said it would provide valuable support to the Mandurah community.
“For us it’s not just about promoting rugby league, but promoting sport in general,” he said.
“If this means more kids are outside getting active and leading healthy lifestyles then that’s something the NRL wants to be a part of.”
Mayor Williams said the base was a key step forward for the Dawesville community.
“It’s massive for us and the community spaces we’re trying to create in the southern corridor of our town,” he said.
“I grew up here and I know it’s been so long that people have been waiting for these kinds of facilities, so to be able to deliver one such as this is fantastic.”