MANNING Hockey Association has long term plans to convert the Terry Launders Field (TLF) into its showcase arena.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Association president Tony Barton said this at the announcement of a $713,000 State government grant to assist with repairs to the field that was badly damaged in the March floods. The TLF is currently out of action and no games will be played there this year.
"The main damage (to the field) was actually under the surface,'' Mr Barton said.
"It'll need to be stripped, repacked and redone and then we can get to playing hockey on it again.''
The TLF came into play in 2000 and was the association's second turf field, following the Allan Taylor Field that was opened in 1988.
"We've actually got a great life out of it (the TLF),'' Mr Barton said.
However, he agreed that the TLF needs some TLC and while not having the field available will disrupt this season, the financial assistance provided to repair the damage is timely.
"It was the one field out of the three we have that we were struggling to run around on,'' he said.
(The association's has three turf fields, the third coming into play in 2018).
"Moving forward, making the TLF our main field would be our goal,'' Mr Barton explained.
"It's better placed in terms of the sun and the wind and all the elements, so it would be perfect for our feature field.''
Mr Barton said MidCoast Councll has been supportive in assisting the association with the insurance process after the extent of damage to the field was assessed.
He said the association will also look to provide more fencing for the hockey centre.
"We have a lot of assets here that we want to protect,'' he pointed out.
RELATED:
"So some version of getting the facility fenced and secure will be our next big thing. Then there's a whole batch of other things - lighting, LED, going green, solar power.''
Mr Barton added that having three turf fields will enable the association to continue to host major State championships as well as assisting the domestic senior and junior competitions.
Member for Myall Lakes, Stephen Bromhead congratulated the association on the funding, which is part of the NSW government's Regional Sport Facility Funding.
"The Manning Valley Hockey Facility is one of the few regional hockey facilities with three artificial fields and it is essential we ensure the third field is back better than ever,'' he said.
