In Summary
- Demolition of the old Princess Park clubrooms will begin Thursday 26 June, paving the way for the new $4.9 million Multi Use Events Pavilion.
- The new facility will include modern change rooms, a social room with commercial kitchen, umpires’ rooms, and elevated seating with undercover viewing areas.
- Built 2.4 metres above ground to safeguard against future flooding, the pavilion is a response to the 2022 flood damage and extensive community consultation.
- Construction by local builder Moretto Building is set to be completed by late 2026, providing upgraded amenities for AFL, netball, and cricket clubs.
The pavilion, to be constructed by local company Moretto Building, will be a welcome addition to the many sporting clubs who use the facilities all year round, including AFL, netball and cricket.
The pavilion will include change rooms/trainers rooms and amenities that meet both AFL, Netball Victoria and Cricket Victoria requirements, a large social room with commercial kitchen and glass frontage views over the oval, umpires’ facilities and a 3m wide undercover veranda area. The new pavilion will also include tiered seating and a grassy mound to take advantage of the elevated views.
Due to its location, the new pavilion will be built above flood level, around 2.4m above the natural ground surface, to protect it from damage during any future flood events.
Greater Shepparton City Council awarded the contract for the design and construction of the pavilion at its April Council Meeting this year, which Mayor, Cr Shane Sali, said marked a long journey following the October 2022 flood event.
“The clubrooms at Princess Park were inundated with flood waters and deemed unfit for use following the October 2022 floods. Since this time, Council has worked closely with user groups to determine the most appropriate way forward,” he said.
“It is an exciting time to now see demolition get underway, with the new pavilion set to take shape in the coming months. The result is a great collaboration between Council and user groups, and we look forward to seeing the new facilities utilised by the many sporting clubs which play at Princess Park all year round.”
Shepparton Swans Football Netball Club President, Jarrod Sutherland, said the current building was an old portable shifted to Princess Park by the club over 70 years ago.
“It has been great for our club over this time, however now with the floods we are excited to get the building demolished and move into something new, that now includes female facilities,” he said.
‘We are extremely thankful to the Councillors and Council staff for making a new community facility a reality, and the AFL for loaning us temporary rooms which has allowed us to stay at Princess Park during this tough time. We are glad that a local builder has the contract to build the new rooms, things are moving in the right direction and everyone is excited.”
Shepparton Youth Club United Cricket Club President, Steven Nash, said the building was the last reminder of the flood and the damage to the Princess Park complex.
“It will be nice to see it removed. The October 2022 floods were obviously a very stressful time for our club and the community,” he said.
“The demolition of the building marks the first stage of the construction of the new rooms which is massively exciting, you can’t build it until this is removed. We are all excited about the construction of some fantastic rooms over the next year and a half.”
The demolition is another important step to getting the development underway, with a formal turning of the sod to take place before construction begins. The new Princess Park Multi Use Events Pavilion is expected to be complete by late 2026.
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