Darebin Council Approves A$33.4M Women's Multi-Sport Stadium

A women's multi-sport stadium will be built after the Darebin Council committed to funding its estimated cost of A$33.4M ($24.6M), "regardless of state or federal government assistance," according to Richard Pearce of the NORTHCOTE LEADER. The site at John Cain Memorial Park in Thornbury will have four indoor and four outdoor courts and "aims to boost participation in netball and women's sports." The stadium "will benefit" 5,000 women and girls. Almost A$6M ($4.4M) has been allocated in the '18-19 council budget for the first stage of design and construction, "with four outdoor courts expected to be completed by December." The council "will seek state or federal government money to help fund the rest of the project" and apply for up to A$3M ($2.2M) from the state government through the Better Indoor Stadiums Fund. But officers will be developing a "long-term strategy" for the '19-20 and '20-21 budgets to prepare the council to cover the remaining A$27M ($19.9M) (NORTHCOTE LEADER, 6/19).