Mariners' Closer To Excellence
CENTRAL Coast Mariners have moved a step closer to establishing a centre of excellence in Tuggerah with the club hailing a 'landmark milestone'.
The club is excited to announce a
formal Development Application with Wyong Shire Council has now been
lodged, as it continues to push ahead with plans for what it believes
will become the pre-eminent professional sporting facility of its kind
anywhere in Australia, on the corner of Bryant Drive and Wyong Road at
Tuggerah.
"After more than six months of intensive planning,
design and extensive negotiation and consultation with Wyong Shire
Council, we are delighted to have been able to lodge the completed
Plans. We couldn't be happier with the final design, which draws its
inspiration from many of the world's top sporting facilities," said
Mariners deputy Chairman and Chairman of the Mariners at Tuggerah trust
Peter Turnbull.
"This is a landmark milestone on our quest to
make the Central Coast the hub of football excellence in this country.
Not only will Mariners at Tuggerah offer our club a world-class
football and administration facility, but it will also prove to be a
tremendous asset for the wider community.
"We've already had
tremendous support from our joint venture partner Wyong RSL, as well as
Wyong Shire Council, and we thank them for their continued backing.
Without their blessing, we wouldn't have been able to even dream of
such a significant project, but just as we do, all the parties involved
regard this a vital component to the continued development of the
Central Coast.
"We also need to recognise the significant
contribution of architect Greg Smith, and all those involved from the
environmental engineers, to hydraulic engineers," Mr Turnbull said.
The
Mariners at Tuggerah complex will be situated on a total of
approximately 22 acres and has been designed with tremendous support
from councillors and senior management at Wyong Shire Council.
The development will boast world-class facilities that will host the Mariners in every sense.
The
Mariners at Tuggerah site will feature six full sized playing fields,
including a boutique arena, ten small sided, multi sport fields, a
6-storey administration building, a sports science building, a 120-room
accommodation block, an indoor aquatic centre, gymnasium, refurbished
and extended licensed club.
"We are all very excited about
reaching this stage of the development and it re-iterates our
commitment to the region," said Mariners Executive Chairman Lyall
Gorman.
"And the timing couldn't be better. With Football
Federation Australia's bid for either the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cups,
combined with our first foray into competing in the Asian Champions
League and our relationship with English Championship side Sheffield
United, Mariners at Tuggerah would significantly boost the chances of
attracting world class sporting teams to the region.
"This will
see us not only have the best facilities possible to promote and
nurture our own local talent, but also to attract the best young
players throughout the country.
Once completed Mariners at
Tuggerah would not only serve as the Hyundai A-League team's training
base, but also as the base for both the Central Coast's National Youth
League and Westfield Women's League teams, who would play home matches
at the complex's centerpiece, a 3,000-seat boutique stadium.
"As
well as providing outstanding facilities for the Hyundai A-League,
National Youth League and Westfield W-League teams, we will now have
our own facilities for the Mariners Academy plus Camps, Holiday Clinics
and the like.
"And as an added feature, most facilities on site
will be available for the use of Mariners Members and members of Wyong
RSL Club," Gorman said.
"This is an important day for the RSL
as well as the Mariners, and lays the foundation for the future of the
Wyong RSL in so many ways," said Wyong RSL Club President Geoff
Thompson.
If the application runs as smoothly as hoped, the Mariners believe they could have approval for the development by Christmas.
I have a dream...a really really farfetched dream, that we could one day have something like this in Wellington.
Critical_Lemon2009-06-30 17:08:31