Mr Loftus was speaking after the official hand over of the oval to Taree City Bulls Rugby League Club. This took place during the Group Three match featuring the Bulls and Macleay Valley at the Neal Oval.

The two clubs agreed to a leasing arrangement late last year, ending four years of negotiations. Taree City will now have control of the ground for the next 25 years in five by five year slots.

This will open the way for the club to receive further State government funding the upgrade facilities at the Neal Oval.

“I wanted the ground to go back to the community when I was mayor in 2004,’’ Mr Loftus, who served one term as mayor of the former Greater Taree City Council. He was also a councillor for more than 10 years.

“The problem was the bureaucrats at council didn’t want anything to do with it. It was a wasted opportunity,’’ he added.

Mr Loftus remembers when the Neal Oval was always the venue for Group Three Rugby League semi-finals and the grand final. This was before Group Three changed the policy for the allocation of semi-finals in 2002.

“I used to go there to watch the games with my father-in-law, Bede Henry,’’ he said.

He described the Bulls, led by president Mal Dixon, as ‘a forward thinking club.’

“They’ve already started to improve the amenities there. I hope now they’re successful in getting further grants to carry out more,’’ he said.