Willaura Recreation Reserve is presently undergoing a $690,000 upgrade to help make its facilities more inclusive and bring them up to modern standards.
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Willaura Recreation Reserve Committee secretary Ron Jenkinson said he was delighted to see the project underway after the great deal of effort the committee had dedicated to it.
"It's been going on for a number of years; a decade or more," he said.
"We've worked very hard to make this happen."
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"It's just been one of those projects where it's been started and stopped. But this time it's got some legs, we've got some money, and we've got the community behind us, so it's certainly going ahead."
The Willaura Recreation Reserve Committee raised $100,000 for the project through its Friday Night Dinners, along with other fundraisers and personal donations.
The project is also funded by a $390,000 grant from the state government's Local Sport Infrastructure Fund, and by a $200,000 contribution from Ararat Rural City Council.
Mr Jenkinson said the upgrades were important for "several reasons".
"The buildings were built in the late 70s, so they're very much outdated," he said.
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"The change rooms were built for footballers, and standards have changed. So, we're re-establishing that facility with individual showers and toilets, and we're just tidying it up and getting rid of the old concrete floors to make it a bit more hygienic and easy to clean.
"More importantly, the existing clubrooms will become a unisex facility. If we have female football teams play here in the future it would certainly be suitable for them to use.
"We've outgrown our social room. So, we're going to knock a wall down and make the room bigger. We're also going to upgrade our kitchen which doubles up as a canteen for Saturday football.
"On the south end, we're building female-friendly change rooms that will be largely used by the netball teams. The facilities they had before were pretty substandard."
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Mr Jenkinson thanked council for its support in progressing the project.
"The shire was prepared to back us and helped us get the grant," he said.
Ararat Rural City Council's support for the project was in part due to its ambition to make more of its sporting venues female-friendly.
Council chief executive Dr Tim Harrison said the project is in its early stages.
"Project demolition of the internal walls are almost complete making way for the new fit-out," he said.
"The set out for the new building's concrete slab is underway, with plumbing to be installed in the coming weeks."
The new facilities are expected to open in mid to late 2021.
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