A new $100 million Greater Cities and Regional Sports Facility Fund announced in the 2020-21 NSW Budget will stimulate local economies, boost employment and promote healthy lifestyles across the State.
Acting Minister for Sport, Multiculturalism, Seniors and Veterans Geoff Lee said the multi-million-dollar initiative would help create and rejuvenate sporting hubs in communities hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Right across NSW, community sport is the heart and soul of our social fabric and we want to make sure we have the best infrastructure for our State,” Mr Lee said.
“$100 million will be injected into improving facilities spaces across metropolitan and regional NSW to enable more people to participate in sport and active recreation.
“By investing in new and existing infrastructure we will encourage participation in grassroots sport and create employment opportunities as part of the NSW Government’s multi-billion-dollar infrastructure pipeline.”
Northern NSW Football CEO David Eland says this announcement is timely, coinciding with the recently released NSW Football Infrastructure Strategy.
“We very much welcome today’s news of further funding being provided to sporting facilities – particularly given that the outcomes of our strategy identified a significant need for improvements in lighting, pitches and changing facilities.
Acting Minister Lee continues this compliments our $148 million investment in the Active Kids program this year, to further support communities to keep active and involved.
“We have seen record participation in children’s sport thanks to our Active Kids program and our investment in sports infrastructure aims to build on this success across all genders and abilities,” Mr Lee said.
The Budget will also allocate $3 million for the development of a business case to turn Jubilee Oval in Kogarah into revitalised suburban stadium.
To view the NSW Football Infrastructure Strategy in full click here.
To view the NSW Media Release click here.
