Orange residents and sporting groups have been urged to come forward with ideas on how to make the city's newly-announced $25 million sporting precinct the best it can be.
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Full funding for the project was announced in Tuesday's state budget.
It is now up to Orange City Council to develop full plans, costings and development stagings to present to the state government to allocate the money.
The funding is committed to build a first-class sporting precinct in one of Australia's greatest sporting regions.
- Deputy Premier John Barilaro's spokesman
The multi-sports complex with fields for a range of sports and activities will be built on council-owned land alongside the Northern Distributor Road near Ophir Road.
The cash has been reserved as part of the government's $500 million Growing Local Economies Fund "for a purpose-built sporting precinct at Orange."
Council sport and recreation committee chair Cr Jason Hamling said it was "fantastic news".
We only get one chance at this and we want to get it right.
- Cr Jason Hamling, Orange council sport and recreation committee chair
"I'm over the moon really. It is something I went to the [council] election with," he said.
Cr Hamling urged residents and sporting groups to present their ideas to council to ensure the complex was the best project for Orange.
"We only get one chance at this and we want to get it right," he said.
The regional sports hub is expected to include an AFL, cricket and multipurpose oval, an athletics field and track with covered, tiered seating, and a main rugby union/league field with a 1500-seat grandstand and seating mounds, with a total capacity for 8500 fans.
Cr Hamling said the site was a "large parcel of land" that would have walking tracks and space for orienteering and other recreation.
Mayor Reg Kidd said it would be "something for everyone.
"There will be a proper athletics field. There are no athletics fields in Orange. It [can be for] everything from Little Athletics through to school carnivals. You can even have state athletics championships there."
Cr Kidd said council had not been caught by surprise by not having the planning completed before the funding was announced.
"It's been good lobbying to say what we want. It's a resolution of council. We have shown good faith by buying the land," he said.
LOCATION: THE SPORTS PRECINCT SITE
Cr Kidd said such a facility would enable Orange to attract top-class events, including NRL games and major sporting championships.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced the funding during the state election campaign with the proviso Nationals candidate Kate Hazelton was elected. It has provided the funding though but that did not happen.
A spokesman for Deputy Premier John Barilaro said the government had committed $25 million for the project.
"The funding is committed to build a first-class sporting precinct in one of Australia's greatest sporting regions," he said.
"The NSW Liberal and Nationals Government will honour all election commitments, as seen in the 2019-20 budget.
"The Government will work with Orange City Council to progress this important project. We have committed to building a first-class sporting precinct in Orange because it is the right thing to do."
A further $1.2 million was allocated in the budget for upgrading work at the Orange courthouse.
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