Friday, 13 September 2024
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Scoring goals at Bellbird Park with new building opening
3 min read

The doors were opened last week to a new multi-use pavilion at Drouin's Bellbird Park.
The pavilion provides a home to the West Gippsland Hockey Association and Drouin Dragons Soccer Club and a satellite venue for Drouin Cricket Club.
It also will provide a community events space and contribute to implementation of the Drouin community hub.

The new building and a 186 space car park that was completed in late 2022 cost $5 million, of which $3 million was provided by Baw Baw Shire council and $2 million from a state government grant.
Another major associated project, a redeveloped soccer pitch, was used for the first time two months ago.
The official opening involved councillors, Member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing and representatives from the project reference group and sporting clubs.
The new pavilion allows for flexible room configurations and includes a commercial kitchen, toilets, four changing rooms for players, rooms and amenities for officials, a first aid room, two canteens and an office/meeting room.
Baw Baw mayor Annemarie McCabe said she was impressed with the new facilities and proud council was able to deliver them.
The female friendly changerooms and facilities ensures access for the local players that use them and contribute towards the success and progression of local sporting groups, she said.
The opening marked the end of a process that began with a conversation between the soccer and hockey clubs seven years ago when the two sporting clubs identified an urgent need for a new pavilion.
Drouin Dragons Soccer Club president Jason Beer said with increasing population and annual increases in players across both clubs, it was clearly recognised the current clubrooms which were close to 30 years old, couldn't accommodate future player growth.
The Dragons soccer club, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year, has more than doubled in size in the past six years with 370 players registered for the winter season - 28 per cent of its membership being female.
Mr Beer said the club was growing by an additional 40 to 50 players and the increased player numbers was supported by a large number of coaches and volunteers at the club.
He said volunteers and good facilities were an integral component of any successful sporting club.
Due to the growth at the club, it also was also recognised that the pitches were not in a condition that could accommodate the growth and usage, in particular the main pitch.
Mr Beer said council supported the pitch upgrade project which was undertaken alongside the pavilion project.
"Running two large projects literally side by side was quite the challenge for council, contractors and the Drouin Dragons SC but with good communication, respect for the club members and plenty of patience, the two projects were able to deliver taking into account any impact to the 2023/24 winter season.
"Although the projects impacted training, functions and canteen sales, we needed to be patient, ensure we had sufficient funds in the bank to cover this period and be flexible and considerate with the ways of working with the user groups, contractors and council," Mr Beer said.
Pitch light funding also has been approved by council and the state government for pitches three and four. Mr Beer said this meant the club would have four pitches under lights and traffic on the four pitches could be shared in 2025 to reduce wear and tear.