An $8.3 million plan has been approved to rebuild Maitland’s No.1 Sportsground, an investment tipped to lure National Rugby League and A-League matches to the site and a move that will mean big tourism bucks for the city.
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An application for the redevelopment of the historic site was approved by the Joint Regional Planning Panel and tenders will be called early next year for the start of demolition and reconstruction.
The work will be jointly bankrolled by Maitland City Council ($3 million) and the Hunter Infrastructure Investment Fund ($5.6 million).
Maitland mayor Peter Blackmore said the news was a great win for the city and a huge coup for the region’s sporting fraternity.
The mayor said the city would be able to host sporting events of an international standard, which could result in huge tourism benefits for the city as a whole.
“It will be a first-class facility and we are confident it will attract some high profile sports, which in turn brings in the tourists helping the local economy,” Cr Blackmore said.
“It will also mean keeping our young athletes, who would normally travel to Glendale for major regional events, on home turf.”
Maitland City Council’s senior projects architect Aaron Cook hopes work can start as soon as possible with stage one aiming for an August 2017 completion date.
Start and completion dates for the latter stages of the project have not been finalised.
The works will include a new 1100-seat grandstand, a 400-metre synthetic running track, new change facilities, partial upgrade of the existing field and a new canteen.
Existing buildings, which date back to the early 1900s, will be demolished however plaques and other memorabilia onsite will be retained and implemented in the new development.
“This will be a vastly improved facility and we will be targeting larger regional events, even NRL pre-season games, A league matches and various exhibition games,” Mr Cook said.
No winter sports will be played on No.1 Sportsground next season and council is looking to relocate existing users.
The state government established the Hunter Infrastructure Investment Fund in 2011 to improve transport, education, water and health infrastructure in the Hunter.
The objective of the fund is to identify and support regionally or
sub-regionally significant infrastructure projects in the Hunter that relieve infrastructure constraints, open new economic opportunities and drive economic growth making the Hunter a better place to work, live and do business.
