The City of Whittlesea has announced a sweeping redevelopment of Laurimar Recreation Reserve in Doreen, the home of Laurimar Football Club, starting next month.
The upgrade to the reserve’s west oval will include the installation of new drainage and irrigation, a cricket wicket and a natural turf surface, as well as new fencing and coaches’ boxes.
Following ongoing issues with poor drainage and the general condition of the sportsfield surface, a concept design was undertaken in 2020-21 for upgrade, and consultation was undertaken with the Laurimar sporting clubs that use the oval – AFL and cricket – to ensure practical considerations for game-day were considered, such as the location of player access gates and coaches boxes.
The construction contract of $1.1 million has now been awarded with construction to start in October 2021 and expected to take six to nine months to complete and for the turf to establish.
The reserve is home to Laurimar Football Club, which includes more than 600 members and teams ranging from under 9s to over 35s.
Laurimar Football Club president Alasdair Walker said he was looking forward to teams playing and training on the new ground next season.
“The upgrade will be truly first-class and provide a better home facility for all of our teams,” he said.
“It will improve safety, accessibility and importantly sustainability, which will give us the confidence to grow and attract more members to the club.”
City of Whittlesea administrator Chris Eddy said providing first-rate facilities to support community sport was a high priority.
“Local sport is at the heart of our community and helps bring people together,” he said.
“The upgrade to Laurimar Recreation Reserve will boost participation in sport and help keep our community active.”
For more information about the Laurimar Recreation Reserve upgrade, visit whittlesea.vic.gov.au/majorprojects.
