WHEN patrons descend on Lavington Sportsground on Tuesday night for the Border Bash cricket they will see a ground in a state of flux.
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A multi-million renovation, which will lead to the grandstand being expanded with an extra 300 seats, new playing fields and fresh changerooms, has begun.
It is being funded with $4.025 million from the federal government, $3.5 million from Albury Council and various amounts from the AFL and Lavington sporting clubs.
So where is the NSW government slice?
At the time the first sod was turned on work at the oval in July, Albury mayor Kevin Mack said he had not given up hope of some money flowing from Macquarie Street.
“There is a truck full of money to be spent and unfortunately they are having difficulty backing the truck out,” Cr Mack said.
Indeed just how much cash is swishing around in NSW Treasury coffers is apparent with the state government’s announcement it will spend $2.5 billion demolishing and rebuilding two Sydney stadiums.
That includes the ground built for the Olympics, which has been deemed doomed less than 20 years after completion.
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian was asked how she could justify knocking down the venues during her recent trip to Corowa to promote a new TAFE learning centre.
She got on the front foot with a couple of shots that rhetorically were akin to Sydney Thunder slogs.
“I want to stress we’re the first government in the history of this state that’s invested a third of all of our infrastructure spend in rural and regional NSW,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“Over the next four years rural and regional communities will be getting more than $22 billion in infrastructure.
“That has never ever happened before in our state, I’m incredibly proud of that record and I challenge anybody to point to a government in the history of the state that is doing more for rural and regional NSW.”
The comments sound impressive, but the Lavington Oval non-contribution, following on from the NSW government not assisting with money to build the MAMA gallery, undercuts the hyperbole.
The government should care as much about regional sporting venues as Sydney grounds which rarely fill for club contests involving soccer and the rugby codes.
In particular, the demolition of the Olympic stadium needs to be rethought; a conversion to a rectangular configuration rather than a razing would be preferable.
