The St George Football Association (SGFA) in conjunction with the federal government and Bayside Council officially opening the synthetic surface at Ador Ave on Saturday 18 August.
SGFA received a $2 million federal grant in 2016 and since then have worked tirelessly and collaboratively with Bayside Council on the redevelopment of Ador Ave, Rockdale.
The venue has been opened just in time for a new summer football competition that will be held at the venue starting in October.
Summer football is the fastest growing format of our game in NSW and has no sign of slowing. Summer football has grown over 14% in just the last year with over 41,000 participants.
The Hon. David Coleman, Member for Banks, Bayside Council Mayor, Bill Saravinovski and Councillors, SGFA General Manager – Craig Kiely and Chairman Angelo Bonura plus other dignitaries were all present for the opening of the new synthetic field.
The introduction or a synthetic field at Ador Ave will see additional usage to cope with the growing demand of football. A synthetic field allows over 60 hours of usage compared to a natural turf field which studies show can hold approximately 25 to 30 hours before the surface begins to deteriorate.
Synthetic fields provide a wide range of benefits including; increased usage, climatic, lower ongoing maintenance, and consistency and quality of football.
Football NSW, Manager – Government Relations, Funding and Infrastructure commented “Football is the largest club-based sport in NSW. The installation of a synthetic field will assist in alleviating some of the pressure on the natural turf fields in the area”.
“Most importantly, the inclusion of a synthetic field will assist in coping with future demand, as population in the Rockdale area is expected to increase by over 50% by 2036”.
Congratulations to SGFA on their tireless work over the last 2 years ensuring the local football community have a quality synthetic field for its members to use well into the future.