A new multi-purpose sports facility is to open next month in the Orange Central Business District.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Located at Moulder Park, the enclosed court will include hoops, goals and stumps for informal games of basketball, futsal, cricket and even pickleball.
Orange councillor Tammy Greenhalgh said the multi-use facility will be free for anyone in the community to use.
"People can come down on their lunch break to burn off a bit of energy, because it's so close to the CBD," she said.
"And it gives a destination for some of our teenagers, who aren't so keen on some of the smaller parks and activities that we've got around town."
Trades workers could be seen on Thursday fixing coloured panels to the perimeter fence, which will be up to three metres high.
Councillor Greenhalgh said the fence will be a great addition for parents who need to supervise their children.
"There's no danger that children are going to run off and get injured," she said.
"And balls can't roll onto the road."
The new sports facility will be named the "Bob Russell Sports Court" in honour of Bob Russell, a stalwart figure in Orange's sporting scene, to recognise his contribution to local sport.
He supported local sports clubs for generations and owned a sporting goods store on Summer Street from the 1960s to the 1980s before passing away in August last year.
Mayor Jason Hamling has previously said that he's in favour of naming the sports facility after Russell.
"What he's done for our community, I think it's great he's being recognised," Mayor Hamling said.
The Bob Russell Sports Court project was funded with $175,000 from the Orange City Council and $105,397 from the Federal Government's Local Roads, Communities and Infrastructure Program.