Posts by: Elysa Sorahan
Latrobe Valley Sports Precinct
The Latrobe Valley Sports and Community Initiative (LVSCI) was an $85 million investment to improve social, health, and economic outcomes in the Latrobe Valley from 2017 to 2022. It formed part of the Victorian Government’s $266 million package of support for the Latrobe Valley. The LVSCI had a place-based approach with a specific focus on infrastructure and social cohesion through investment in state-of-the-art facilities, sporting events, and community development activities across the three local government areas of Latrobe City Council, Wellington Shire Council, and Baw Baw Shire Council.
The Latrobe Valley region has been transformed into one of regional Australia’s top sports and community events precincts improving health, economic and social outcomes, including a strong pride of place.
Key partnerships with a range of major sporting organisations, the three Councils, Sport & Recreation Victoria (SRV), Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), Destination Gippsland (DG), other stakeholders and community members enabled the delivery of the LVSCI.
The initiative included:
- $73.1 million major infrastructure program to build or upgrade seven major sporting facilities in the Latrobe Valley region
- $5 million upgrading nine high-priority community sporting facilities on crown land (Community Managed Places Program – DELWP-managed)
- $6.9 million for major events and community outreach
Milestones
- Over 300 local jobs have been created across the projects with over 60 percent of the workforce from the Latrobe Valley region.
- Local businesses and contractors were supported to bid for, and deliver, the construction and supply of these infrastructure projects.
- Over 35 major sporting events were delivered to activate these facilities, including the NBL Blitz, World Jousting Championships, Melbourne Victory (men/women), Melbourne Stars Big Bash, and Melbourne Boomers WNBL games.
- Funding also delivered a range of community engagement and capacity-building activities, such as strategic planning grants, sporting clinics, school and community visits, coach development opportunities, club workshops, and pathway programs to elite sport.
MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE
An Infrastructure Project Office was established at Latrobe City Council to manage six of the major infrastructure projects totaling $68.1 million while Wellington Shire Council was responsible for managing the Sale Tennis Centre project.
| PROJECT | VALUE | DESCRIPTION |
| Gippsland Regional Aquatic Centre | $57 million: $46 m LVSCI $8 m SRV loan $3 m Latrobe City | Construction of a new regionally significant aquatic centre incorporating indoor and outdoor swimming, recreation, and community spaces. Click here to view venue site. |
| Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium | $19 million: $17 m LVSCI $2 m SRV loan | Redevelopment of the stadium, car park, increased seating capacity, change rooms, and multi-purpose facilities, as well as upgrade of sports pavilion and outdoor oval. |
| Morwell Recreation Reserve | $9.0 million: $4 m LVSCI $5 m Commonwealth | Upgrades to netball courts and pavilion (Stage 1) and new AFL facilities (Stage 2). |
| Ted Summerton Reserve | $3.5 million: $3 m LVSCI $500,000 SRV | New cricketing facilities, including the Cricket Centre of Excellence. |
| Latrobe City Sports and Entertainment Stadium | $1.7 million | Construction of synthetic soccer pitches, lighting upgrades. |
| Traralgon Tennis Centre | $400,000 | Construction of synthetic soccer pitches, lighting upgrades. |
| Sale Tennis Centre | $1.0 million | Upgrade to courts and facilities. |
COMMUNITY MANAGED PLACES
The program (managed by DELWP and SRV) has upgraded nine local sporting reserves across Latrobe City, Baw Baw, and Wellington Shires on crown land.
| Venue | Description |
| Traralgon Recreation Reserve | Reconstruction of netball courts, complete with a lighting upgrade, renovations to change rooms and toilet amenities, and improved safety measures for roller derby |
| Glengarry Recreation Reserve | New indoor and outdoor cricket facilities as well as change rooms for women and umpires |
| Ronald Reserve, Morwell East | Repairs to existing tennis fencing and new change rooms, catering to a growing female participation base |
| Cowwarr Recreation Reserve | Installation of unisex home and away change rooms, trainers’ rooms, umpires’ change rooms, as well as male, female, and family-friendly amenities |
| Gormandale Recreation Reserve | Lighting upgrades for football and netball |
| Heyfield Recreation Reserve | Installation of cricket training nets including three new bays with retractable nets, resurfacing of existing netball court and development of the second court, and upgrade to lighting on the main oval. |
| Monash Reserve, Newborough | Lighting will be upgraded to enable increased participation |
| Maryvale Reserve, Morwell | Installation of four lanes of retractable cricket training nets and female change facilities and upgrades to the umpires’ rooms |
| Willow Grove Recreation Reserve | Construction of multipurpose female-friendly match day facilities for netball, tennis, and umpires |
EVENTS WEBSITE
The initial events precinct website was established to showcase the above venues within the Latrobe Valley Sports Precinct and has now grown to include all significant venues across Gippsland to attract major events to the region.
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