Norwood, Payneham & St Peters to start work on long-awaited unisex changerooms at Payneham Oval
In 2016, an AFL audit found the changerooms at Payneham Oval were at the “end of life”. But new facilities are on the way – and they will be a gamechanger for female athletes.
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Sport may be off at Payneham Oval, but the site is set to become a hive of activity.
Work will next month start on new unisex changerooms at the oval, with construction expected to be complete by October, after Norwood, Payneham & St Peters Council secured a $490,000 State Government grant.
The new rooms, including toilet cubicles, private showers and umpires’ facilities, will support male and female players across junior and senior teams.
They will complement the recent upgrade of the clubrooms, which were completed in February, and new tennis courts.
NP&SP had already allocated $775,000 to the project, but would use the grant to offset the cost.
The final costs would be considered at a council meeting on April 22, when the successful contractor was also expected to appointed.
NP&SP Mayor Robert Bria hoped the work would provide some economic stimulus during the COVID-19 pandemic
“It’s crucial that the council continue to invest in new and upgraded facilities for local sporting clubs and the community during the pandemic, which is why we are keen to get started,” Mr Bria said.
He said resident clubs – Payneham Norwood Union Football Club and Payneham Cricket Club – had experienced significant growth in female members.
“The new facilities will create equitable access to changerooms and significantly improve the comfort and wellbeing of female participants and team members,” he said.
“The new facility will place the clubs in a strong position to attract even more players and continue the on-field successes they have enjoyed in recent years.”
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Payneham Norwood Union Football Club chief executive Tait Brimacomb said the club was “thrilled” to see the project had won State Government funding support.
Last year, the club said its ability to provide “safe and private rehab recovery” for female footballers has become “untenable”, with junior girls reportedly using facilities at the same time as the men.
“Since we introduced our women’s footy program, we’ve worked incredibly hard behind the scenes to ensure equal participation and integration of our female athletes into all aspects of our club culture and, in return,” Ms Brimacomb said.
“We’ve been rewarded with increasing participation rates and a women’s Division 2 premiership last season.
“However, up until this point, the one missing piece has been ensuring equality of infrastructure and facilities, with our existing changerooms falling well below the unisex standard guidelines and jeopardising our players privacy and dignity.
“We are immensely proud that we will soon be in a position to provide our female players with the facilities that they deserve.”
Payneham Cricket Club secretary Mark Colley was “delighted” the work was proceeding.
“Payneham have a strong commitment to women’s cricket and women’s sport generally,” Mr Colley said.
“It has been so pleasing to see the community respond to this and the upgrading of the playing and training facilities at Payneham Oval can only further enhance the experience for the now hundreds of girls and women who currently play and will play at our club.”
A 2016 AFL SA audit found the changerooms were at the “end of life”, in a “poor” condition and had “multiple issues”.
The council did not have any figures on job creation.