A $2.4 million upgrade of a Meadow Heights reserve is expected to boost female participation in sport.
Work on the second stage of upgrades to John Ilhan Memorial Reserve have been completed, adding new female changerooms, a multi-purpose pavilion, 256 new carparking spaces and improved lighting.
The reserve is home to Hume City Football Club, which recently announced plans to field teams of senior women and under-18 and under-14 girls this year, and the Hume Little Athletics Club.
Hume mayor Drew Jessop said the addition of female changerooms was one of the most important features of the upgrade – they would encourage increased sports participation from women and girls in Hume.
The works will also allow the soccer club to train at night and enable the athletics club to host twilight carnivals.
Cr Jessop hopes the new facilities will encourage more people to visit the reserve and cheer on their local clubs.
“We’re immensely proud to be able to provide the reserve’s users – Hume City Football Club, Hume Little Athletics and the Broadmeadows Obedience Dog Club – with grounds and facilities that are to a very high standard,” Cr Jessop said. “Our vision is that Hume City develops into a more physically active, healthier and socially connected community, where more people participate in a range of leisure activities.
“Sport plays a powerful role in Hume because it encourages personal development and inspires the community to work as a team.”
The council contributed $1.9 million to the project, with the government providing $500,000 through its Interface Growth Fund.
Stage one of the reserve upgrade was completed in 2013 and included a new synthetic soccer pitch, athletics track, refurbished grass pitches and a pavilion at a cost of $6 million.
