Mitcham Council knocks back funding for $2.1m Kingswood Oval upgrade
A suburban footy club’s $2.1 million oval upgrade, including “desperately needed’ female changerooms, is in doubt after the local council squibbed support.
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The Unley Football club must ‘cool its jets’ over a proposed $2.1 million upgrade of Kingswood Oval that includes much needed female friendly changerooms after Mitcham council rejected a funding request.
Club officials say the council’s failure to commit $750,000 to the project has reduced the likelihood of state government support and jeopardised the overall project.
The club – known as The Jets – is baffled by the actions of Mitcham councillor Andrew Tilley, who it believed fully backed its proposal.
Grant officer and Jets committee member Mark Keam said the club had briefed Cr Tilley – a former club champion – and had an assurance he would raise a motion requesting the council commit to the $750,000 funding.
But he instead put forward a motion, which was supported, to pledge $25,000 to scope the project.
“One of our group commented that ‘something must have happened in the (Council) anti-chamber’,” Mr Keam said.
“We intended to put that figure ($750,000) into the grassroots grant application that was due the next day.”
He said the risk to the club was that the state government might not commit to another round of grassroots funding.
“It would leave us high and dry,” he said.
“It’s a lost opportunity as we’ve done all the leg work and the oval desperately needs an upgrade.”
The Jets, which house almost 30 teams across football and cricket and have almost 1100 members, have a $500,000 commitment from the federal government to fund its new changerooms.
It has already received $100,000 from the state government to scope the project with that money having to be spent by June 30, 2020.
Cr Tilley said he wasn’t ready to abdicate the title of “club champion” as he believed he had taken the only possible action on the night.
“I realised there was no chance of any motion asking for $750,000 getting up,” Cr Tilley said.
“This way they’ve got landlord (council) approval and $25,000 to advance this project.
“They really need to break the project into two or three bit size chunks to give them a chance.”
“And as much as I love the club and will champion their cause – they need a decent plan.”
Cr Tilley said Blackwood Football club, which received $500,000 from Mitcham for new changerooms, was “a model for a successful application”.
During debate in the Mitcham chamber, The Jets were criticised for only raising around only one per cent of the overall budget for the project compared to other clubs that had raised up to a third of their project costs.
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Mr Keam said Unley had spent “every penny we have” upgrading and maintaining its current facility which was proving “woefully inadequate” with the explosion of teams – predominantly female sport teams – keen to use the oval.
‘The council has made no contribution to maintaining the oval,” he added.
Ironically, Mitcham will use the Kingswood Oval to host its Christmas Carols concert this Saturday from 5pm, reinstated after a public outcry against its dumping by council in July.
The Kingswood Oval is also used by neighbouring Mitcham Girls School and nearby Highgate and St Joseph’s primary schools – none of which have ovals.
Mercedes College at Netherby – affiliated with the Jets’ senior sides – also uses the ground for training and matches.