Simpson Recreation Reserve secures funding for vital upgrades

Victorian Government funding will ensure that essential upgrades to Simpson Recreation Reserve’s 50-year-old changerooms go ahead.

Simpson Recreation Reserve is located within the Shire of Corangamite, a local government area in the Barwon southwest region of Victoria.

The $1.39 million project led by Simpson Recreation Reserve Committee received $1 million from the Regional Community Sports Infrastructure Fund.

The Recreation Reserve Committee will contribute $40,000 to the project, with Council contributing $100,000, Simpson Football Netball Club $115,000, and Simpson Cricket Club $10,000.

The new changerooms will be a multipurpose facility featuring accessible changerooms for home and away teams, an office and trainers’ room, medical room, two umpire’s rooms, a briefing room and storage areas.

Simpson Recreation Reserve Committee Secretary Michele Fratantaro advised “the current rooms have been described as up there with some of the worst in the Colac and District Football Netball league.

“It’s huge for the entire community, not just the football netball club.

“There’s the cricket club, the Heytesbury Show and lots of other little groups who use the rec reserve, as well as more people camping and coming to stay.”

Fratantaro said changeroom upgrades were highlighted as a top priority four years ago when Corangamite Shire developed a master plan for the municipality’s recreation reserves.

Fratantaro shared “we put a lot of planning work in and have been waiting for the right funding streams and grant opportunities to come up.

“Our first application was unsuccessful, so we worked with the Shire to make some changes to this second application.

“It wouldn’t have been able to come to fruition without all of us working together as a community.”

Fratantaro said one of the aims of the project was to create female-friendly changerooms and added “when we first went for the initial funding, we didn’t have a female cricket or football team.

“Now we have a female cricket side, which is great, but we’ve got nowhere to put them.

“It became really evident that new rooms were needed and that this project needed to go ahead.”

Simpson Football Netball Club President Bree Jones welcomed the funding announcement and enthused “It’s very exciting, I haven’t been able to sleep since receiving the news.

“To have these rooms upgraded and modernised is just as wonderful for the players and league umpires as it is for the volunteers of our club.

“It will be exciting to see the build include a separate space for a medical room, which is very important for player safety during football/netball season.

“I would like to think we are now in contention to host some finals out here in Simpson with the new changerooms, which will complement our community hub building.”

Mayor Kate Makin said the funding announcement was a “game changer” for the community.

Image. Credit: Simpson Cricket Club