WestInvest: Fairfield Council eye off funding boost for Cabravale Health and Wellness Centre upgrade

FIRST LOOK: See the new multicultural and sports centre opening up concerts, performances and sports from wheelchair basketball to indoor soccer.

Fairfield City Council is eyeing off two major community centres as it decides where it will spend over $20 million of WestInvest funding.

Through WestInvest, a state government program to fund major infrastructure programs, every council in Sydney’s west will receive between $20m to $35m.

A Fairfield Council spokesman said the groundwork had already been completed on two projects which could be funded using WestInvest, subject to community input and approvals.

The first, a new multicultural and sports centre at Fairfield Showground, would feature multipurpose sports courts, a stage for concerts, and a grandstand with corporate box seating.

Artist rendition of the planned multicultural sports centre at Fairfield Showground.

Artists’ impression renders of the site hint at the ability to host sports from wheelchair basketball to indoor soccer and netball.

The second project in line for funding is the upgrade of Cabravale Leisure Centre, which would see the addition of an outdoor gym, 25m pool, children’s pool, spa, and sauna, along with a revamp of the hydrotherapy pool at the community leisure centre.

Artist impressions for the Cabravale Health and Wellness Centre. Picture: brewster hjorth architects

The Cabravale Leisure Centre upgrades are at a much more advanced stage, with the project first flagged in 2017, and masterplan funding allocated in 2019.

Fairfield Advance reached out to WestInvest asking exactly how much in funding Fairfield residents would benefit from, but was not given a specific figure, and instead told it would be ‘based on population size’.

While $400m of the $2bn WestInvest community fund is directly allocated to local councils, the remaining $1.6bn is spent on individual projects at the state government’s discretion.

When asked if Fairfield council would apply for additional funds from the second portion, a council spokesman said, “We believe more funding is always required to meet the needs of our community and will continue to apply for it whenever we can”.

Cabravale Leisure Centre alone will cost around $23.6m, according to council plans, while the multicultural and sports centre at Fairfield Showground would likely cost around $30m.

Originally published as WestInvest: Fairfield Council eye off funding boost for Cabravale Health and Wellness Centre upgrade