Plan for $4m soccer hub at former Taperoo Primary School site gains support
LOCAL politicians have thrown their support behind plans for a $4 million soccer complex at Taperoo.
LOCAL politicians have thrown their support behind plans for a $4 million soccer complex at Taperoo.
Port Adelaide Lion Soccer Club (The Pirates) wants to build four, full-sized pitches and a two-storey clubhouse on the old Taperoo Primary School site.
The club is struggling to cope with increasing demand and is forced to turn away half the children who attend soccer trials each year.
Federal Port Adelaide MP Mark Butler and state MP Susan Close have promised to support the club in its bid for government funding.
The Pirates have applied for a $2.5 million grant from the State Government and plan to ask the Federal Government for $1.5 million.
It comes after Port Adelaide Enfield Council this month agreed to make the land available for the development and contribute $500,000, so long as the club gets government funding.
Dr Close said she would give the club "all the support I can", pending the result of a feasibility study being prepared by the Pirates.
"So many people connected to the Pirates are really keen, because it is such a long-standing club with a lot of existing support and good will," she said.
"Soccer is a growing sport, particularly with the younger kids, so I imagine it would be very attractive to parents around here."
Mr Butler, who has also met with the club to discuss the plans, said it was a "very exciting project".
"I would be supportive of any grant application they lodge," he said.
Port Adelaide's senior teams are based at John Hart Reserve, Ethelton, which has one full-sized pitch and a small clubroom, while juniors play at Almond Tree Flat, Largs Bay.
Premier League player James Skeffington, who has been a member of the Pirates since he joined the Under 13s 10 years ago, said junior and seniors would be based at the same ground.
"It would create more of an atmosphere at the club, more people would be able to play at the same time and hopefully we'll get more supporters out to games," Skeffington, 22, says.
"Juniors play on Sundays and seniors play on Saturdays, so we never get to see each other play, but if we get the new base up and running, we could all train on the same night.
"There would be a lot more players, more parents and the kids will be able to look at how the seniors play and train."
The club expects to find out if its State Government grant is successful by April next year.
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