From the Lord Mayor's Office
Supporting the city's sporting future
It's fantastic to see more people participating in various sporting codes across our city, whether that’s young people involved in club sport, increased female participation to older members of the community staying active and focussing on health and wellbeing.
My status as a die-hard Hawks supporter is widely known, and I bring this level of enthusiasm, energy and passion to all my work and advocacy at Council when it comes to all sporting facilities across the city.
Council plays a crucial role in enabling and encouraging participation at all levels, from grass roots community sport to elite professional athletes. Beaton Park is one of the city’s key sporting hubs and we’re currently looking at whether the Beaton Park Regional Precinct Master Plan, which was adopted in 2018, still meets community needs and expectations as the city continues to grow and develop.
We know that demand for many of our indoor venues and outdoor sports fields outstrips supply, and this is a challenge Council is looking to address. Right now, we’re having conversations with all major indoor sport organisations who use indoor courts at venues across Wollongong, to improve our understanding of what may have changed since the adopted Masterplan, including utilisation and demand for courts.
At Beaton Park, Ted Tobin Hall is a key part of the strategic planning. It’s a much-loved and valuable asset for the community. I can assure the community we’ve no plans to make changes to the current use of Ted Tobin Hall with the current bookings for ongoing and casual hirers, including fitness classes, continuing as normal while this strategic work is underway.
I’m really excited by this project which considers the work done in 2018 around the future of Beaton Park and asks whether this vision is what our community needs now and into the future. From this piece of work, we’re going to be able to make decisions about priority projects – and chase grant funding – that’ll allow our diverse sporting passions to continue for many, many years to come.
Read Council's latest Beaton Park Community Update May 2025
