The state government has promised to chip in $12.5 million – if re-elected on March 25 – towards the construction of a centre of excellence for Macarthur FC at Cawdor.
Sport minister Alister Henskens made the announcement on site yesterday in the presence of club chairman Gino Marra and CEO Sam Krslovic.
Macarthur Park, as the high performance and community sporting precinct will be known, will be built on land located at 186 Cawdor Road.
The project will include four elite standard training fields, including one synthetic.
It will also house a high performance gym, aquatic and recovery facility, and a multi-purpose theatre and community space.
“This project will create a high-performance sporting precinct that will aid the full lifecycle of athlete development from grassroots participation right through to the A-League,” Mr Henskens said.
The Member for Camden Peter Sidgreaves said Macarthur Park has been designed to include and connect the community through multi-purpose areas.
“The Bulls are already part of our community and this facility will give them a permanent presence that will facilitate further engagement and connection with fans, as well as opportunities to develop grassroots football locally,” Mr Sidgreaves said.
The commitment was a big win for South Western Sydney and the football faithful in Bulls heartland, according to Wollondilly MP Nat Smith.
“This centre will bridge the gap between elite sport and the grassroots, by bringing our sporting heroes closer to the community and creating strong links with pathway and development programs,” Mr Smith said.
Macarthur Bulls CEO Sam Krslovic thanked the NSW Government for their support and commitment to football in South Western Sydney.
“The Macarthur FC Park will help grassroots juniors and elite professionals reach their full potential by providing the community with a state of the art facility currently not available in the region,” Mr Krslovic said.
In response, Labor says that if it wins the election it will honour the $12.5 million commitment for Macarthur Park.
Campbelltown MP and senior frontbencher Greg Warren told the South West Voice in Macarthur that the funding was already available through an allocation for sport centres of excellence.
“It’s already in the Budget, so if we win we will honour this commitment to Macarthur Park,’’ he said.
I thought this was to be built at Macarthur Heights. Instead we are left with a half finish canal that dams up with water in heavy rain, slowly releases mud and silt into the local creek.
A real eye sore.
It was, Glenn, and we may never know what went wrong with that plan.