New grandstands open at Fishburn Reserve, Rathmines
5th September 2020
The Westlakes Wildcats Football Club will officially unveil two new grandstands at their Rathmines home base on Saturday.
Member for Lake Macquarie Greg Piper will join the club in opening the new facilities at Fishburn Reserve which provide covered and elevated seating for 520 people.
Funding for the new grandstands was secured by the club through the Office of Responsible Gambling which redistributes a percentage of gaming taxes. Almost $190,000 was secured through the fund, with the club adding $15,000 of its own money and expertise provided by Lake Macquarie City Council.
“The new stands are really impressive and will be welcomed by everyone who uses those fields, especially the football club in winter and the cricketers in summer,” Mr Piper said.
“I congratulate Wildcats president Terry Williams and all of his support crew on the club committee who are doing a fantastic job in growing this club and improving sports facilities in the local area.”
Lake Macquarie mayor Kay Fraser congratulated the club on its new facilities.
“It shows what our community can do when the NSW Government, community organisations and the council all work together,” she said.
Project manager for the Wildcats Peter Johnston said that while the process had been long, the result was worth the effort.
“The fields are in the heritage precinct at Rathmines so we had to jump through a few extra hoops but the end result is great,” Mr Johnston said.
“The club is really grateful for the department grant and also for all the support we’ve had from the local MP Greg Piper, and officers from the Recreation and Land Planning department at the council.”
Other sporting clubs in the Lake Macquarie area wanting to know more about State grants are encouraged to contact Greg Piper’s office on 4959-3200.