AusLeisure

Looking to develop a new sports and aquatic centre in the northern Melbourne suburb of Mernda, the City of Whittlesea has engaged Deloitte Australia as the lead consultant to prepare the business case for the facility.

With the planned Centre currently budgeted at $180 million, City of Whittlesea Chair Administrator Lydia Wilson has spoken of the comprehensive due diligence and long-term financial planning to prepare the detailed business case which sets out the approach for the design, delivery and funding of the project.

Wilson stated “this will be the City of Whittlesea’s single biggest investment in community infrastructure to date and rigorous scrutiny of the most financially responsible way to deliver this complex project has been undertaken by independent advisers, administrators and council officers over many months.

“The approach we have endorsed in this business case will see the project delivered in three stages.”

Stage 1: early works including site establishment and detailed design for Stage 2 - underway

Stage 2: To include six indoor sports courts and eight outdoor netball courts plus detailed design for aquatic and leisure components. Construction on the indoor and outdoor courts is scheduled to commence in 2024/25

Stage 3: To include a 50-metre multipurpose pool, a warm water exercise pool, a learn-to-swim pool and a children’s leisure pool, a gym and group fitness area, spa and sauna, and health and wellbeing consulting suites. Construction on the pool and leisure centre is scheduled to commence 2027/28

Wilson added “staging the project spreads the costs over a number of years and ensures Council can continue to deliver other important infrastructure and facilities across the municipality. We are a growing municipality, and we need to ensure that we can meet the needs of communities across our established, new and rural areas - both now and in years to come.

“Even with a staged approach, the sheer scale of this investment means we simply cannot do it alone. To deliver this project we need to secure the support of the Federal and State Governments and we are strongly advocating to both levels of government to contribute significant funding to deliver this much-needed facility.”

Council has endorsed $48 million funding for delivery of Stage 2 (which includes detailed design of Stage 3) contingent on an external funding contribution of $40 million. Funding for Stage 3 construction will be presented to Council for consideration in 2025/26.

The City of Whittlesea has the highest portion of overweight adults in north-eastern Melbourne, the third highest portion of adults with type 2 diabetes in Victoria and the sixth highest proportion of adults with heart disease in Victoria with 44% of adults doing insufficient physical activity.

In addition, the delivery of the sports courts is particularly important for increasing female participation in sports and physical activity. More than two-thirds of adult Victorian females are classified as being sedentary or having low levels of exercise and almost a third of women in the City of Whittlesea reported getting no exercise during a typical week.

Looking forward, Wilson added “we are 100% committed to this project and fostering a healthy community where people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds can easily access the services and facilities they need.

“We know that making it easier to access opportunities to increase physical activity and social engagement will improve the physical and mental health of our residents and dramatically lower their risk of chronic disease, enabling them to live healthier and happier lives.”

Image courtesy of Zoggs.

Related Articles

29th July 2022 - Belgravia Leisure announces appointment of Wayne Goldsmith as Group Aquatics Manager

8th July 2022 - Royal Life Saving report spotlights equal access issues to aquatic facilities

4th July 2022 - FINA announces partnership to aid aquatic facility development

4th July 2022 - Gippsland Regional Aquatic Centre recognised at Victorian local government awards

20th May 2022 - Aquatics and Recreation Victoria thanks sponsors for backing regional conference

8th April 2022 - Deloitte announced as International Olympic Committee partner until Brisbane 2032 Olympics

11th February 2022 - Courts reopen at City of Whittlesea’s Mill Park Basketball Stadium

25th November 2021 - New Active Australia Alliance looks to represent ‘community leisure industry’

3rd May 2021 - Aquatic Recreation Network Australia launched to support states and provide national advocacy opportunities

17th March 2021 - Deloitte report predicts ongoing growth of women’s sport and its sponsorships

16th March 2021 - Global consultants Deloitte share media and technology predictions

16th October 2020 - City of Whittlesea encourages women and girls to play sport

12th October 2020 - Belgravia Leisure secures Whittlesea City Council aquatic facilities management contract

26th May 2014 - City of Whittlesea adopts 20 year aquatic and recreation facility strategy

14th April 2014 - Deloitte predicts significant growth for health and wellness industries

---

Support our industry news service
We hope that you value the news that we publish so while you're here can we ask for your support?

As an independent publisher, we need reader support for our industry news gathering so ask that - if you don't already do so - you back us by subscribing to the printed Australasian Leisure Management magazine and/or our online news.