By Bonny Burrows
After years of sharing amenities with neighbouring sporting clubs, the Bunyip Strikers will soon have their own facilities, courtesy of a $900,000 Federal Government cash boost.
The funds, which were announced by Federal Minister for Regional Development Fiona Nash and McMillan MP Russell Broadbent on 1 August, will go towards a $1.95 million project to build a new pavilion for the soccer club.
Cardinia Shire Council will cough up the remainder of the cash.
Once constructed, the state-of-the-art facility will include a multipurpose space for community use, unisex change rooms, universal access and environmentally sustainable design.
Soccer club president Adrian Gatti said it would be a big change for the family-friendly club, which has no amenities of its own.
Currently, the club is structuring its home games around the Bunyip Football Club because they share facilities, and there are no toilets.
Players have been using portable toilets, most commonly found on building sites, and changing in shipping containers for many years, according to the club.
“We’ve been working on getting funding for this project for the last five years, essentially since the club was formed,” Mr Gatti said.
“This is fantastic news.”
The new pavilion will also allow the soccer club to open its doors to new members of both genders- something it currently cannot do.
According to the club’s successful grant application, Cardinia shire’s rapidly expanding community and the resulting pressure on existing sports facilities, means it can no longer accept new players “due to the lack of access to an appropriate pavilion that is universally accessible”.
The grant was one of about 100 approved under the Building Better Regions Fund (BBRF) and Mr Broadbent said the local community had fought long and hard for a new pavilion.
He said more than 500 applications were received for a piece of the national funding pool.
“Bunyip will receive great benefits from this project, including improvements in health, greater participation in sport and more social inclusion,” Mr Broadbent said.
“I congratulate Cardinia Shire Council and the Bunyip Soccer Club and look forward to working with them to help deliver benefits to the local community.”
Another round of BBRF is expected to open before the end of the year.
