Port Adelaide Enfield councillors ‘cowards’ for knocking back funding for synthetic soccer pitch at Taperoo Reserve

FURIOUS soccer club members have stormed out of a council meeting after councillors refused to grant them an extra $1.3 million for a synthetic pitch in Taperoo.

Junior Port Pirates players Patrick and Jordan. Source: File

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FURIOUS soccer club members have stormed out of a Port Adelaide Enfield Council meeting after labelling councillors “cowards” for refusing to grant them an extra $1.3 million for a synthetic pitch at Taperoo Reserve.

The cost of transforming the old Taperoo Primary School into a soccer complex has already blown out from $6.4 million to $9.2 million in the past 12 months.

The council voted — for the second time — to delay making a decision on whether to spend an extra $1.3 million on a synthetic pitch or an additional $367,000 for a grass pitch.

Club president Peter Murray argued that a synthetic pitch would create a world-class facility in the western suburbs that could be used for up to 60 hours a week instead of only 20 hours for grass.

“A natural pitch won’t help us grow as a club,” said Mr Murray, who also appeared before the council in December when it voted to defer the proposal until February in order to appeal to the State Government for funding.

Both the Labor Party and SA Best have now committed $990,000 towards the project.

The Liberal Party has not promised any cash toward the development.

Councillors told the meeting they did not want to commit to the Pirates’ plan until the election result was clear — prompting an angry response from some club members who accused them of being “cowards”.

Afterwards, Mr Murray said there had been a “bitter feeling” from some members as they believed the club had done what was required to secure the extra funding by locking in commitments from two of the three major parties.

He said if a decision had been made and the plan fast-tracked, a synthetic pitch could have been in place by July — allowing the club to play on it during its 2018 season.

Now the club will not be able to play on it until 2019.

The council will vote on the plan again at its April meeting.