The council recently announced the plan to upgrade the sporting facilities located at the Queen Elizabeth Park site. The site which currently holds a range of sports activities including; Greyhound Racing, Rugby, Cricket, Archery, Soccer, Athletics, and AFL, as well as a range of other events throughout the year, is to have existing facilities expanded. The two draft plans which have been laid out for council have been costed at between 10 and 12 million dollars. The two very similar plans centre around improving the site's attractiveness to audiences and event attendees.
The construction of a stadium as well as a "clubhouse' facility to be shared by the groups which operate from the site currently, and any future groups that transfer their activities to the site.
The construction of the stadium, part of both plans, is to include a 800 seat grandstand. The stadium will be designed to hold rugby-league, soccer and athletics events. These improved facilities will be good not only for the players, who will have better playing environments but will improve the space for spectators as well.
The biggest difference between the plans is the inclusion of tennis courts at the site in plan no.2 the space for which requires the sacrifice of one of the Junior League/Cricket fields. This also allows for slightly larger parking space in the area. Council has no immediate plans to start work on the project, stating the funding isn't available. The council is now hoping that a grant will allow the construction of the facility. Government grants have helped Casino construct many of its recently completed projects such as the upgrade to the library and the Community Cultural Centre.
With Casino's strong sports links, these kinds of projects are important to maintain Casino and help it to grow. With professional style facilities it is much easier to play at the high level expected by the community, and help the teams to be taken more seriously on the regional level.
All members of the community who are interested, should check out the full draft plans, currently on display at the Council Administration Offices. They drafts are also available for download in full from the council's website.
