Oakes Oval lights are failing, and there’s no money in the Budget to fix them

New upgrades are planned for Oakes Oval, but staff say the lights are failing, and there’s no money allocated in the Budget to replace them.

Night events such as Nitro Circus Live could only be held at Oakes Oval under lights.

With a major upgrade of Oakes Oval well underway, the issue of ageing lights, and no plan to replace them, has been raised.

When the draft Budget was presented at Lismore City Council’s extraordinary meeting last week, the manager of assets Scott Turner said the oval’s lights were failing and

not all of the lights were fully functioning.

“The lights at Oakes Oval are reaching the end of their working life, and parts are unable to be sourced,” Mr Turner said.

He said the lights could cost between $250,000-$500,000 depending on the level of lighting required – with lighting for big ticket games like an NRL match requiring more expensive lighting.

Councillor Nancy Casson said she was disappointed to learn of the situation concerning the lights only on the night of the meeting and expressed concern their replacement was not funded in the Budget.

“We are spending all this money to upgrade the oval, and the lights are dying,” she said.

The draft Budget indicated the council’s intention to borrow $445,100 for the upgrade of Oakes Oval and Crozier Field.

Councillor Eddie Lloyd questioned the ongoing cost of Oakes Oval and Crozier Field, calling them black holes.

She questioned whether maintaining the sport fields “just to host a few rugby games” that don’t appeal to all people, was a good use of funds.

Fee and charge increases in the 2021/22 Budget see the cost of using lights at sport fields in the LGA increase.

The use of all floodlights at Oakes Oval costs $116.25 per hour, or $3.15 per light, per hour.

The use of all floodlights at Crozier Field costs $29.50, or $24.50 per hour for 12 lights for training.

Comparatively, lighting at smaller sportsgrounds costs between $15-$31 per hour for a one-off use, depending on the number of lights at the ground.