Works have officially begun on a $2 million facility upgrade project at Banyul-Warri Fields, the home of Surf Coast FC.
Surf Coast FC received the significant funding from the Victorian Government, with the club itself also investing $100,000 in the project.
The upgrades include:
- A new social room for Surf Coast FC – which includes a canteen and administration space
- Elevated tiered seating with viewing of all three pitches at Banyul-Warri Fields
- Two new change rooms
- Two new referee rooms
- Two refurbished referee rooms
- Four new accessible toilets
- Large soccer storage space
- New shared user group storage space
- Shelter for ground-level spectators beneath the upper-level tiered seating overhang
- New footpaths for access around the building and all spaces
Vice President of Surf Coast FC, Renato Trentin, explained the club had begun seeking out upgrades around a decade ago.
“We didn’t have a separate social room for our club and we saw this an issue,” he said.
“So, we started lobbying the council a while back, probably around 10 years ago.
“We then progressed to working with and lobbying both the state and federal government, to acquire some sort of grant to help us get a grandstand, on top of the social room.
“The main driver was to get that social room so that we could have our own space, instead of utilizing a shared space.
“We eventually got promised the upgrades at the last state election by both parties and they obviously have upheld the promise, which is great.”
With construction on the project beginning early last week, the upgrades are set to be fully implemented by June of next year.
The new facilities will have a host of benefits for Surf Coast FC, according to Trentin.
“We are getting additional changerooms and facilities, and we’re very pleased that they will be more user friendly to those in our community with special needs,” he said.
“This will now allow us to start getting involved in other types of competitions, for example the all-abilities competition. The new facilities will provide greater flexibility for all members of our community.”
“As well as that, we get a much larger storeroom so we won’t have as much product damage as in previous times.
“There will be a viewing grandstand as well which is fantastic, so people and our members can sit upstairs and view the games from a comfortable sheltered position.
“We also then have a social room as well, which will be accessible to other people in the community but is predominantly our home.”
Surf Coast FC itself has a strong bond with the local community and it’s something the club wants to continue to grow in the coming years.
“We are a community focused football club; we look at developing community football and getting people to fall in love with the game,” Trentin said.
“We try to offer football across all different age groups, from four-year-old’s to however old you want to be to play.
“We also have a strong focus on developing the female side of the game – and really looking at how we can invest, as more and more females are getting involved in the game.
“With the World Cup coming up in two years’ time, it’s a primary focus for us.”
The club is extremely happy with the layout of the upgrades, but further facility upgrades in the near future may also be on the cards for Surf Coast FC.
“Maybe some smaller projects in the future, but I think they will be within the club’s and council’s capacity to work together to get that done,” Trentin said.
“The council has always supported us.
“Overall, we are quite happy with the state of how things are progressing right now.”
