Sutherland Shire Council’s floodlighting upgrade project at Solander Playing Fields is now complete, thanks to a $600,000 investment.
This brings a great benefit to the Sutherland Shire Football Association (SSFA), as well as Cronulla RSL Soccer Club who are based in Sydney’s southern suburbs.
As part of the completed works, it features a full LED lighting upgrade for the three full size football fields in conjunction with several mini fields. 10 new floodlighting poles at 18 metres and 26 new LED lights were installed in all.
The LEDs are made with a long lifespan, while the floodlights’ strong mechanical design will cause little problems when it comes to maintenance interventions for the time these lights function. Another positive of LED lighting is that the light directly goes onto the field, removing light spill that old lighting systems had in them.
Each of the three fields at Solander Fields now meet the minimum Australian Standard of lighting, set at 100 lux which can mean night training and competitions can safely take place.
Football NSW Manager – Government Relations, Funding and Infrastructure, Daniel Ristic:
“This is a fantastic result for the Stingrays and for SSFA. Lighting is a proven method of increasing participation capacity. Sports lighting allows players of all ages and abilities to train safely at night and can provide the opportunity to play competition in the evenings.”
“Improving existing venue capacity’ is one of the key pillars of the NSW Football Infrastructure Strategy. Lighting upgrades maximise the safety, carrying capacity and activation of existing football fields across the state.”
Sutherland Shire FA General Manager Jeff Stewart:
“Floodlighting is the number one priority identified by the SSFA in our local infrastructure strategy. From the 43 venues across the Sutherland Shire, 99% have lighting although 68% of those fields do not meet the minimum Australian Standards of 50 lux for training.”
“This project moves us one step closer to resolving the floodlight deficiency that Sutherland Shire is currently experiencing.”
Solander Playing Fields have been the home of Cronulla RSL Soccer Club since the mid 1990’s when they shifted from Captain Cook Oval across the road.
Sutherland Shire FA is the second largest football association in NSW with over 19,000 registered players in 2021 – females represent over 35% of those players. Further infrastructure upgrades allow the association to grow, especially with the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2 years’ time in Australia and New Zealand.
