The Lochinvar Rovers Football Club is now shining a little brighter thanks to a successful $150,000 grant to install floodlights at their homeground.
Maitland City Council submitted a grant application for the funding back in October and have been successful in getting the funding through the NSW Government’s NSW Football Legacy Fund.
The installation of the floodlighting at the sporting complex at Lochinvar means there will be more opportunities to use the ground for longer in darker months, increase the quality and accessibility of the fields, and improve the experience for both players and spectators.
Maitland Mayor Philip Penfold said the Lochinvar Rovers are one of the fastest growing sporting clubs in the area.
“I get around to a lot of sporting clubs and the growth this club has been phenomenal and it’s a testament to the great management of their committee and the growth of this suburb.
“As the people of Maitland move in and move across into other areas of the city like Lochinvar, and we see development around it, this site is under pressure and we need to make sure we are providing for the people with sporting amenities.
“The lighting currently only caters for one paddock and to be honest, that is sub-standard. We need to make sure we are providing for more and I know that they have wishes moving forward for a third paddock in future years,” said Mayor Philip Penfold.
Lisa Duhig, Secretary of the Lochinvar Rovers said the grant funding means everything to the club.
‘We’ve been working towards this for eight years. The club has tripled in size,” she said.
“We already have people registering who don’t live here yet, planning for when they move here. As you can see there’s heaps of new houses being built next to the fields, so this means that we have got the facilities that we need for the current club and to grow.
“We’re too big on a Friday night now, we’re struggling for training. We have to have teams playing at Rutherford already and training is really difficult with lights. It’s hard for parents to get kids here early and its hard for mothers to come here from work and sort children out so we need more lights,” said Lisa.
The Lochinvar Rovers have training each night with 45 teams and more than 430 players. Even better, around 37 per cent of their players are female.
Lisa added that the lighting is just the start, their wish list for the sporting complex also includes a third field, double the change rooms and upgraded drainage.
Image: Jessica Rouse/NewFM Newsroom