New facilities in Wendouree boost sports from skateboarding to football

New sport facilities at Wendouree West Recreation Reserve and nearby Victoria Park are anticipated to boost community participation in sports from skateboarding to football in Wendouree - a large suburb on the north western rural-urban fringe of Ballarat.

With around 1,200 participants playing football (soccer) in the Ballarat area, community sport is booming at popular local sport hubs like these.

At Wendouree West Recreation Reserve, the new facilities include a female friendly pavilion, a new community hub for the Wendouree Neighbourhood Centre and Ballarat YMCA Youth Programs and a community kitchen. The facilities also include a Men’s Shed, a ReCranked Youth Shed, Skate and BMX facilities and a street soccer zone.

The three new football pitches are a welcome boost for the Forest Rangers Soccer Club, which will now have more room to train and host big games and tournaments with larger crowds. A new synthetic cricket wicket will provide a home competition and training venue for the growing local cricket side, the North Ballarat Cricket Club.

At Victoria Park, the new pavilion features home and away female friendly change rooms as well as an office space, storage, community kitchen and canteen, umpires change rooms, publicly accessible toilets, spectator seating, walking paths and landscaping.

The pavilion is the home base for the 140 players of the Victoria Park Soccer Club, and available to the Lucas Cricket Club over summer, as well as community groups and nearby schools.

The new infrastructure at both venues was made possible by a $7.5 million investment from the Victorian Government.

The Government has funded $7 million through the Local Sports Grants initiative for the Wendouree West Recreation Reserve and $500,000 from the World Games Facilities Fund for the new Victoria Park pavilion. Ballarat City Council also contributed funding to these projects.

Victorian Minister for Community Sport Ros Spence was joined by Local State Member for Wendouree Juliana Addison, Wendouree’s Forest Rangers and Victoria Park Vultures soccer clubs to officially open the new infrastructure.

Minister Spence shared “with grassroots winter sports back and growing in participation, more than ever clubs like the Rangers and Victoria Park SC need quality facilities they can depend on. “These new facilities will go a long way to inspiring more locals to join in the fun at the local football or cricket club.”

Since 2014, more than $1.6 billion has been invested in community sport infrastructure across Victoria.

Image. Victorian Community Sport Minister Ros Spence and Member for Wendouree Juliana Addison joined the Mayor of Ballarat and Councillors to tour the new infrastructure at Wendouree West Recreation Reserve. Credit: Ballarat City Council