The lights are on, the fence is up and the deer and hoons have been stopped in their tracks!
An exciting renovation for the Moranbah Bulldogs AFC at E. C. Stevenson Oval is now complete.
President Stephen Thompson said the significant works involved the installation of lights, the construction of a new ground fence and works to top dress, assess current irrigation and drainage to improve the playing surface for the 2022 season and beyond.
“The new ground lighting now provides us with extended and more quality training times,” he said.
“Add to that, it allows us to move our Under 8 and 10 junior match program to Friday night’s, instead of early Saturday mornings. This will enable us to play competition night games and open up more time slots on a Saturday for youth girls stand-alone competitive matches which is in high demand in Moranbah.
“It also means we can open up the facility to hold more community events.”
The Bulldogs, who’ve been targeted in the past on multiple occasions by local hoons who’ve caused extensive and costly damage to the field, now have a brand-new fence in place.
“The fencing project now makes our ground feel like a footy ground,” said Mr Thomson.
“It was brought in to improve aesthetics, provide a barrier for player and official safety, stop motorbikes and cars from riding/driving across the ground and to stop horses and deer from ripping up the surface.
“We also had the field top dressed to even out the playing surface and improve the quality of the deck due to damage sustained by wildlife and the general public.”
Thompson says the field transformation has been a long time coming.
“These facility upgrades now put us in the conversation with other AFL Mackay clubs as having a premier facility to host night games and potentially finals matches into the future.
“Our junior program is second to none in our region and we hope that these upgrades will see more young men and women get involved with our club; strengthening our senior teams and attracting quality coaches and players.
“A big thank you to the Isaac Regional Council for all their work delivering these projects.”
AFL Mackay Competition Manager, Josh Rhodes, congratulated everyone involved in the upgrade works.
“The Moranbah Bulldogs have worked tirelessly over the last few years to get these upgrades off the ground and should be beyond proud with what they’ve achieved,” he said.
“It brings me great joy to see the club enjoy the fruits of their labour, particularly President Stephen Thompson who has driven this for several years.
“A huge congratulations to all those involved as I’m sure all sporting clubs, no matter the code, will look onto E.C. Stevenson Oval with envy!”
