AusLeisure

Victoria’s Sovereign Hill will expand with new event and cultural spaces following a $6 million investment from the Victorian Government’s Regional Tourism Investment Fund.

The development project will include a new pavilion catering for corporate functions and events for up to 500 people and the Waterside and Wadawurrung Cultural Precinct, a state-of-the-art space to encourage people to learn about the Wadawurrung people.

Sovereign Hill’s gold panning precinct is also set to be rejuvenated, with upgrades focused on enhancing events and experiences at night.

Funding will also contribute to a new ‘Valley of Light’, set to attract events of up to 5000 people.

Announcing the funding, Victorian Minster for Tourism and Major Events, Martin Pakula stated “we’re investing in these projects to make sure Sovereign Hill remains one of Victoria’s favourite tourist attractions well into the future.”

Anticipating that the support will help Sovereign Hill bounce back after COVID, Minister Pakula added “It’s done it really tough during the pandemic so this investment is a real vote of confidence in Sovereign Hill’s future.

“We think the sort of changes we’re supporting today will help up to another 80,000 visitors a year come through the place.”

Welcoming the funding, Sarah Quon, Chief Executive of the Sovereign Hill Museums Association, said the expansions will “reactivate” the event spaces across the site and benefit the city as a whole.

Quon explained “across these projects, by 2040, we would predict an additional 100,000 visitors would be driven just by the events that these new upgrades.

“That’s massive for us in terms of what it does for visitation and we know events like Winter Wonderlights last year contributed $20 million to the Ballarat economy.

“So, it’s not just Sovereign Hill that will prosper. It’s accommodation, hospitality and the other attractions around town that supports the visitor economy here so a great win for our industry after a pretty tough couple of years.”

Image: Sovereign Hill from the air. Credit: Wiki Commons/Chensiyuan - CC BY-SA 4.0. 

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