Unley Council needs to put in $1 million for Goodwood Oval grandstand, club says

IT just got $2.5 million from the State Government but a Goodwood Oval tenant says the grandstand needs another $1 million from the local council to be “done right”.

The grandstand at Goodwood Oval in Millswood.

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UNLEY Council needs to kick in $1 million to ensure Goodwood Oval’s grandstand upgrade “is done right”, one of the ground’s tenants says.

The council has welcomed the State Government’s $2.5 million commitment for a new clubhouse at the Millswood ground, but is yet to determine the extent of its own contribution to the project.

Goodwood Saints president Craig Scott last week said the scope of the upgrade hinged on the council’s funding.

Mr Scott said about $3.6 million — including about $1 million from Unley Council — was needed to replace the existing 1960s-built grandstand with the club’s preferred option of a two-storey clubroom.

“If they only allocate, say $400,000, then we would have to settle for a smaller option,” Mr Scott told the Eastern Courier Messenger.

“From our perspective, we would encourage them to take this opportunity to get it done right, to build a state-of-the-art facility that the clubs and the community wants.”

Mr Scott said under the single-storey option, the building’s footprint would have to be extended further north to accommodate new changerooms, toilets and a function area.

“We do not really want to do that,” he said. “We want to be efficient with our use of space, and we want to have the support of the residents.”

Unley deputy mayor Don Palmer said the council was “excited and pleased” after Premier Jay Weatherill announced funding for the upgrade.

Mr Palmer said the council has allocated $1.25 million for projects at the Goodwood Oval precinct, which included work at the tennis and croquet clubrooms, as well as the grandstand.

He said funding options for the grandstand upgrade would be presented to councillors at a meeting later this month.