The second stage of Mudgee's Glen Willow Sporting Complex will be completed in its entirety following a $10 million funding injection for the project.
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"What this $10M does is bring Glen Willow Stage 2 to reality," Dugald Saunders, member for the Dubbo electorate, said when announcing the NSW Government funding on Thursday.
"At this time we have a lot of sports that are unable to host the regional championships that they would like to. And that includes touch carnivals and football of all codes - like rugby league, rugby union and soccer.
"It's the development of community assets - and that's what this is all about. The main Glen Willow stadium has hosted some pretty fantastic events over the years and between 2012 and 2019, $33M worth of economic driver for this Mudgee region.
"But what Stage 2 does is bring the community along for the ride. A total of; 12 new fields including rugby league, union, and multi-sport; two cricket ovals, synthetic and turf; and some fantastic clubhouses, one of which is already being constructed for junior rugby league."
Mudgee Junior Rugby League representative, James Hughes, said "it's a really exciting time" as they anticipate the big move and new possibilities. "A lot of the carnivals that we miss out on go to Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange, and different bigger centres - so having these extra fields will increase our chance of getting these events to Mudgee," he said.
Mayor Des Kennedy said that although this will enable the region to secure such events, it also increases the facility's value to locals.
"It's a fabulous precinct and this is really about the community, 700 kids come here to play soccer, there's 900 registered to play touch - we're talking about the youth of the country and getting them away from their digital devices and give them a bit of fresh air. Yes, the economic benefit is wonderful when we have the big carnivals, but it's a community asset," he said.
Mudgee Sports Council president, Peter Mitchell, added, "it's going to be fantastic that everyone will be here together, if someone's got kids playing netball, league, union or soccer, they can come out here and have a day".
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