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The completion of a $1.46 million clubhouse and change rooms at G Rae Oval in Palmwoods has become the new home for Sunshine Coast Hinterland AFL and Palmwoods cricket club with the modern, inclusive clubhouse including four female-friendly change rooms, umpire facilities, a new canteen, meeting room, storage area, first-aid room and an improved spectator embankment.

Queensland Minister for Sport Stirling Hinchliffe noted “Importantly, the building has been raised above the Q100 flood level to avoid flooding issues which have happened in the past, while there is upgraded electricals so new lights can be installed.

“I’m delighted to see our new partnership with the AFL through the $8 million 2020 AFL Grand Final Facilities Fund start kicking some goals by helping projects like this get off the ground.”

Queensland Minister for State Development Steven Miles added that a $500,000 investment through the COVID Works for Queensland program helped make the clubhouse a reality.

Minister Miles advised “these facilities will allow more people to join their local sporting club and create many positive, far reaching community benefits for years to come.”

Local State Member for Nicklin Robert Skelton said the new facilities are vital so that clubs can keep pace with the growing popularity of their sports adding “Hinterland AFL Club has seen player numbers increase by 63% over the last five years including a 30% jump in junior numbers in 12 months.

“The old clubhouse has been demolished to make way for a modern clubhouse with dedicated male and female change rooms which will make a huge difference to a club that has played this season out of a six by three donga.”

The works were delivered by Sunshine Coast Regional Council through Murphy Builders who employed 70 local tradies throughout the construction works.

Sunshine Coast Division 5 Councillor Winston Johnston said the Jubilee Drive facility, affectionately known as “The Woods”, has been completed in time for the 2021-22 cricket season which starts next month (October).

Councillor Johnston enthused “What a terrific kick-start for the Palmwoods Cricket Club’s junior and senior teams this season and a fitting finale for the Hinterland Blues AFL Club to mark the end of a challenging season which saw the seniors make their first grand final appearance in 10 years.

“Sporting clubs are a critical element of the social fabric of our communities and play an incredibly important role not only in enabling local residents – particularly children and young people – to get active, but they also help to bring communities together and reduce the incidence of social isolation.”

Hinterland Blues President Bruce Bell said the new facilities will provide a massive boost to their future growth and operations.

“Having four change rooms will make the girls more comfortable and increase female participation which is increasingly important as nearly a quarter of our players are female,” said Bell.

“People are already taking a renewed positive outlook on the club and where it’s heading, and we have stemmed the flow of people looking elsewhere for clubs with better facilities.”

Sunshine Coast Hinterland AFL club has 120 senior players and 130 juniors including two senior men’s teams, one senior women’s team and nine junior teams with plans to add another senior men’s team next season.

AFL Facilities and Government Manager (Queensland) Cobey Moore said the planning and development of fit-for-purpose infrastructure plays a vital role in ensuring the game can continue to cater for everyone who wants to be involved.

Queensland Cricket Chief Executive Terry Svenson said Queensland Cricket and Cricket Australia are delighted to have contributed $100,000 to this project, with the strong emphasis on providing upgraded facilities for all participants.

The new clubhouse and change rooms are jointly funded by Sunshine Coast Regional Council ($700,000), the Queensland Government’s COVID Works for Queensland program ($500,000), the AFL Grand Final Facilities Fund ($150,000), Queensland Cricket ($100,000) and Nambour and Hinterland AFC ($10,000).

Images courtesy Palmwoods Hinterland Hawks Cricket Club

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