NNSW prepares grounds for future

BY TESS CAMPBELL
11 Aug, 2010 04:00 AM

A FACILITIES blueprint that will prioritise improvements to the grounds within Northern NSW Football's seven member zones should be finalised within a month, federation president David Eland said.
A template is being developed that enables the federation to subjectively analyse and rank projects.

"Each club's requests are in the hands of their zones at the moment," Eland said.

All Northern NSW clubs were asked to identify improvements to their facilities and greenfield projects that enhanced the grounds and experiences of players, officials and spectators, he said.

The initiative would help prioritise future infrastructure spending.

Meanwhile, Northern NSW Football's plan for an international standard all-weather facility hinges on government funding.

"We're sweating on the election at this point," Eland said.

The Labor government, if re-elected, has pledged to commit $135,000 to the federation for a feasibility study into the construction of a state-of-the-art football headquarters in Wallsend.

"We want to get stuck into this feasibility study so we can move forward," he said.

The proposed football facility would have a synthetic pitch, five-aside fields, player and spectator amenities and an administration block.

The facility would create a revenue stream for the federation to alleviate the sport's heavy reliance on player registration fees.

"We rely heavily on volunteers to run our sport," Eland said.

http://www.theherald.com.au/news/local/sport/football-soccer/nnsw-prepares-grounds-for-future/1909460.aspx