It’s game on at Fred Finch Park’s refurbished netball courts

Image: Local player Mia with IDNA President Peiti Haines, Councillors Campbell, Bradbery and Figliomeni, and the Hon. Peter Poulos MLC

After an extensive refurbishment, 16 of Fred Finch Park’s netball courts have been upgraded and reopened in time for the 2023 season, completing Stage 1 of the Fred Finch Park netball court improvements.

With netball the third most popular club sport in Wollongong, and fourth most popular club sport across NSW, the upgrades are sure to be a hit with players keen to test their skills on the competition-grade courts.

Each of the 16 new courts have been completely reconstructed, resurfaced and painted with high-grade sports court surfacing along with new line marking and goal posts.

The layout of the courts has been redesigned to increase the separation between each court to improve safety for players, umpires and spectators. In addition, lighting has been installed for all 16 courts along with a new PA system to improve communication with all players, officials and spectators. The work is the first stage of planned improvements for the site.

“On weekends during the netball season, Fred Finch Park can be a real hive of activity with more than 4,000 players competing at the site across the two days,’’ Wollongong City Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery AM said.

“We’ve completed works to improve the quality of the courts themselves and improve participant safety by ensuring the courts comply with Netball Australia’s technical standards.

“The work also addresses some challenging drainage issues across this site. The opening of the 16 upgraded courts marks the first stage of this long-term project and, I am sure, will be welcomed by our passionate netball playing community.’’

The works are in line with Council’s commitment to ensure we provide a range of sporting infrastructure that supports grassroots community participation in activities, including women. This not only benefits residents’ physical and mental health but also provides welcome social interactions.

The upgraded courts now meet the standard required for staging inter-district level and higher-grade representative level competitions. And, once planned future phases are completed, it will allow for the whole site to be used for tournaments in the future.

The project was funded by Wollongong City Council and supported by the NSW Government’s $50 million Greater Cities Sports Facilities Fund.

Parliamentary Secretary for Wollongong and the Illawarra Peter Poulos said with the help of $1 million in NSW Government funding, the new Fred Finch netball courts will enable the region to attract and host local and statewide title events.

“An important component of this project has been ensuring the facility aligns to Netball Australia technical guidelines so the Illawarra can become a premier location in NSW for local and statewide netball events,” Mr Poulos said.

Minister for Sport Alister Henskens said the NSW Government is committed to improving netball facilities across the State so that even more people can play the sport.

“Netball is a popular sport to play for people from all walks of life so it’s integral we ensure our facilities meet demand, connect people and communities, and promote active lifestyles,” Mr Henskens said.

Cr Bradbery said providing access to grassroots sporting opportunities, particularly for women in our community, is a major focus of Council.

“The benefits of projects like this are significant. Not only are we providing for our local netballers, but we’re setting up our local courts as facilities that can be used for state and national competitions,’’ Cr Bradbery said.

The works to the courts started in January 2022 with the huge volumes of rain that fell early in 2022 making the project particularly difficult.

We are grateful for the support of the Illawarra District Netball Association who worked with Council and the contractor to accommodate the works during their winter season.

“The landscape around the courts is an interesting one and is particularly swampy as it borders Mullet Creek,’’ Wollongong City Council General Manager Greg Doyle said.

“This posed some real challenges to the team on the ground who had to contend with the wet weather and the ongoing bogginess of the ground itself. The knowledge they gained through this process will put them in good stead for future phases.

“We’ve have appreciated the support of the NSW Government’s $50 million Greater Cities Sports Facilities Fund for this project. We know there is more to be done and we have plans in place for future works at this site should another grant opportunity come our way.

“Projects like this are important to Council as it not only provides for our local community to participate in sport but supports those with the competitive skills and talents to stretch themselves further and potentially play on the international stage or, at the very least, see some of Australia’s up-and-coming netball talent in their own backyard.’’

With the 2023 netball season due to start in April, the Illawarra District Netball Association president Peiti Haines said the club was excited to see everyone back on the courts very soon.

‘’After a challenging year with the extended timeframe for construction the netball community has been patiently waiting for the opening of these quality playing courts and looking forward to the overall development of this site,’’ Ms Haines said.

‘’The project team from Council have faced so many challenges over 2022 with the build and we have been grateful for the ongoing communication and determination to provide the best available work arounds for the netball community during that time.

‘’To have these upgrades that take into consideration the access and safety for a predominantly female sport is such a positive for the Wollongong area and sends a clear message of recognition for the importance of community sport for the connection with others and health outcomes for many.

‘’The start of our season is pending with many clubs in the middle of registration and commencing their grading processes. We encourage anyone who is interested in netball to contact their local club or the Illawarra Association as we have such a range of programs to cater for those from 5 years through to 95 years. We are really excited to see everyone back out on the courts really soon.’’

The project was funded by Wollongong City Council and supported by the NSW Government’s $50 million Greater Cities Sports Facilities Fund.