Salisbury Council will investigate installing a permanent ‘rage cage’ for sports lovers at a Paralowie reserve
Salisbury Council is investigating the installation of a ‘rage cage’ at a Paralowie reserve, catering for a number of different sports including cricket and basketball.
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The Salisbury Council area may get its first “rage cage” for local sports nuts.
Cr Chad Buchanan’s proposal to investigate the installation of a permanent, outdoor “multi-sports facility”, as part of the Fairbanks Drive Reserve upgrade, was unanimously supported by councillors on Monday night.
Cr Buchanan said the SA-made and owned “Rage Cage 2000” model should be considered, catering for soccer, basketball, netball, tennis, rock climbing, cricket and roller sports, as the reserve is upgraded to a “district play space”.
Similar cages have been running in Golden Grove and Elizabeth for about 15 years.
Cr Buchanan said Paralowie was deserving of a new cage as the area lacked “adequate recreational facilities”.
“It’s a great location to do the first one,” Cr Buchanan said.
“(The area) is very lacking in terms of these facilities. It’s important we get this one right.”
He said with Paralowie being also one of the area’s most affordable suburbs, the new cage would suit young families.
“It’s a growing area in terms of young families moving in,” he said.
“Paralowie is our biggest suburb, it’s a massive suburb.”
However, he said council staff had been “very modest” with their anticipated construction costs of approximately $200,000.
“They may be a little bit more than that,” he said.
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Although Mayor Gillian Aldridge joked “I hate the name”, Cr Beau Brug said it had the potential to be a “sensational development” for the area.
Rage cages have been manufactured locally since 1997, with cages installed in Geraldton in WA and Pambula Beach in NSW.
Rage Cage Sports owner Leon Purdy told The Messenger the steel fabricated rage cages were “virtually vandal proof”, required “little to no maintenance” with no moving parts and also catered for hockey, tennis and handball.
“There is no limit to the combination of sports activities which can be played,” Mr Purdy said.
“Half of our business is remote Aboriginal communities where sporting facilities are virtually non-existent.”
A council report on the proposal is expected to be completed by October following public consultation.