The rapidly growing community in the north of Mandurah can enjoy more opportunities for sport, recreation and exercise - and wide open spaces - with the opening of the Lakelands Park sports facility on Friday.
Lakelands Park includes three senior active reserves (suitable for a range of sports including AFL, diamond sports, cricket, soccer, rugby and hockey), two synthetic cricket wickets and four training nets (two batting cages and two cricket nets). Sports flood lighting at both competition and training level will be installed at all three reserves in the coming months.
The $2.5 million state-of-the-art clubrooms include a community meeting room, a medium/large function room and kitchen facilities, change rooms/toilets and storage space, designed to be functional for a range of community and social uses.
The $7.9 million project was officially opened by Mayor Rhys Williams, Mandurah MP David Templeman and Canning MP Andrew Hastie, with a number of local clubs set to call the facility home.
The North Mandurah Junior and Senior Football Clubs and Peel Diamond Sports have already started using the reserves and will now start to use the new clubrooms as their hub.
The City of Mandurah has a shared use arrangement with the Department of Education for the sporting reserves and outdoor sports courts, giving nearby Coastal Lakes College priority access during school hours, with the City managing community bookings at all other times.
Mayor Rhys Williams thanked local residents and sporting and community groups for their help in ensuring the park would be one that locals could use for years to come.
"Our local community has welcomed this facility and its successful delivery is testament to everyone working together to identify exactly what is needed and how best to deliver that," Mayor Williams said.
"The thoughtful and successful planning of this area has allowed us to deliver 10 hectares of district open space to our community. It is a great public amenity where people can come together to enjoy sport, recreation, exercise and leisure at top-class facilities.
"A big thank you to our funding partners, including the State Government for its $4.65 million co-contribution alongside the City's $2.8 million, and to our other funding partners the Federal Government through the Australian Sports Commission for coming on board with $300,000 for the lighting and $150,000 from the Australian Football League.
Mandurah MP David Templeman said he was excited for the facilities available for the growing communities of Lakelands and Madora Bay.
"Prior to the 2017 state election, I made a $2.5 million commitment to support this project. I am glad that the state government has now contributed a total of $4.65 million to this project.
"These recreational facilities and Sporting grounds are very important to the sporting clubs that will use them and to the growing population of Lakelands and Madora Bay."
Canning MP Andrew Hastie said the the population of Lakelands and north Mandurah had grown rapidly over the past decade.
"We've worked hard to make sure that public services and infrastructure have kept up with that community growth," Mr Hastie said. "The Lakelands Park is a good example what can be achieved when all levels of government are working together on a shared vision."