ARARAT and the surrounding districts are set to benefit for decades to come following the official opening of the new $3.8 million Community and Recreation Centre at Alexandra Oval.
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Minister for Sport and Recreation Damian Drum has declared the state of the art facility to be one of the best sporting facilities of its kind in regional Victoria and said the redevelopment will have a profoundly positive impact on Ararat including attracting big events to the region.
"This is right up there with the very best," he said.
"It has been built to a standard higher than just a community facility, so we will have the opportunity to host AFL practice matches and the like, this will be a regional centre for all sports.
"It is an amazingly well built facility that seems to have ticked all the boxes and will give all of the participating clubs the facilities they need."
Minister Drum was joined by Victorian Deputy Premier Peter Ryan and Senator for Victoria and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education, Scott Ryan, along with more than 100 members of the Ararat community at the grand opening on Thursday.
Ararat Football-Club stalwart Harold Bright, 96, had the special honour of unveiling the commemorative plaque to mark the official opening of the multi-use facility.
Among the crowd was Gayle Dadswell, who was the chairperson of the Alexandra Oval Committee of Management - the group that rallied for more than 10 years to get funding for the project.
Ms Dadswell said standing in the end result was an overwhelming experience and extremely satisfying to see the culmination of team work and determination.
"I just can't stop smiling," she said.
"I actually do feel really emotional, I don't think I ever thought this day would come and I am just so proud of a whole lot of people.
"Really it has been a team effort, from all the community members, Council, State and Federal government, everyone was pointing in the right direction and we have ended up with something that is bigger and better than any of us thought we would ever get.
"I think everyone involved has done a terrific job - I just can't wait to see community groups using it now and getting the most out of it."
Ms Dadswell said she would like to see the facility become a meeting point for the community to host an array of functions, which in turn will hopefully generate enough money to fund the second stage of the project, relocating netball courts to the rear of the reserve.
Councillor Gwenda Allgood, who has also been a strong advocator for the redevelopment for more than a decade, said this was one of the most significant projects Ararat has seen and one she is very proud to have been a part of.
"I have been on Council for 30 years and I think 10 of those have been spent fighting for this - I just think it is absolutely magnificent," she said.
"To actually see so many people here showing so much support for it, that really proves that Council has spent its money in the right areas.
"Already they are talking about what football finals can be held here and we have people from Melbourne looking at it and actually saying what a great facility it is, so what more can you ask for?
"Sport and recreation has always been one of my great passions and now how great is this for those young ones who are going to come through the system."
Construction of the Alexandra Oval Community and Recreation Centre was made possible with funding from the Australian Government ($500,000 from the Regional Development Australia Fund), two grants from the Victorian Government ($650,000 from the Community Facility Funding Program and $500,000 from the Putting Locals First Fund), Ararat Community Enterprise ($100,000) and Ararat Rural City Council ($2 million, including the Alexandra Oval Reserve Committee of Management's $70,000).
The investment has delivered new football and netball change-rooms and showers for home and away teams, umpire change rooms, a separate trainers' room, coaches' room, first-aid room, offices and a timekeeper's box with sweeping views of Alexandra Oval.
Just as the previous building was, this section of the new building will continue to be known as the James Fiscalini Pavilion in recognition of the former Ararat Rural City gardener, who was instrumental in constructing and then maintaining Alexandra Oval.
The multi-purpose community space can seat 200 people, and features meeting rooms, an office space, a commercial kitchen, bar, canteen and trophy display cabinets at the main entrance.
It is estimated that in excess of 27,000 people will use the facility on an annual basis in a mixture of sports, celebrations, conferences, events and community activities.
Ararat Rural City CEO Andrew Evans said to cater for the demand Council had advertised for positions and selected an advisory group in recent weeks.
"Council is actually running the facility, so we have a Facility Coordinator who has been appointed and their job is to maintain, run and coordinate amongst the clubs the use of the facility," he said.
"The User Group is really positive, they are made up of representatives from each football club (Ararat Rats and Ararat Eagles), from the Grampians Cricket Association, from the community and Council and already they are all working very well together."
The centre won't be ready for public usage until January 1, 2015 however a public open day is being organised for the coming weeks, along with a 'test function' just prior to Christmas.