Gympie Netball Association will see its flood-ravaged courts, lights and club facilities totally rebuilt to better withstand severe weather events in the future.
The whole site, with the exception of the female amenities building and one shade structure, will be demolished and replaced with more resilient infrastructure after 3.6m of floodwaters inundated the site in February 2022.
The project will be jointly funded by State and Federal governments and will cost $2.34 million under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA), which will be administered by the Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport.
It will deliver a full-site rebuild, providing an expected minimum 20-year lifespan on the facilities which are located in a flood-prone area.
Site investigations and detailed design are underway, with construction to start as soon as practically possible and the facility ready for play in the 2024 season.
Federal Minister for Emergency Management, Murray Watt said the project was an important step in the longer-term recovery for the Gympie community after the 2022 disaster.
“Part of the $77 million Community Recreational Asset Recovery and Resilience Program, this project is one of 197 sporting and recreation sites the Albanese Government is supporting the Palaszczuk Government to rebuild to a more resilient standard using learnings from the 2021-22 floods,” Minister Watt said.
Queensland Sport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said the funding will help rebuild what was damaged and make the club more resilient to future natural disasters.
“All the new facilities will be designed to minimise damage to the netball courts from future floods and will require minimal ongoing maintenance other than normal wear and tear,” Mr Hinchliffe said.
“This redevelopment will make a huge difference to more than 500 players at Gympie Netball Association and mean they can have their home base back, instead of playing at schools and other sites around town which has contributed to a fall in participation since the flood event”.
“Quality sporting facilities encourage more people to play sport and keep playing, and get more people volunteering, leading to a healthier, more active state, so it’s terrific to see all levels of Government team up to deliver this important project for Gympie.”
Gympie Netball President Colleen Miller said the redevelopment will be amazing for the club.
“Our numbers will explode once we have the new courts up and running,” said Ms Miller.
“Our numbers have dropped from 500 before the floods to 350 as we have been playing on two different school netball courts and have had to cancel our mixed comp due to a lack of space while adding another night for the ladies which has been a real stretch on all the volunteers.
“Bringing everyone back together means we will be able to just keep adding to our programs and will see the numbers of players and volunteers increase over time.”
Information on disaster assistance can be found on the Queensland Reconstruction Authority’s website at qra.qld.gov.au.
