ANGLE Vale’s sporting clubs are set to benefit from a $4.7 million overhaul of the town’s community sports centre, after Playford Council voted to fund the project at the 11th hour.

The council was notified on June 23 it was successful in securing $590,000 in State Government funding to complete stage five of the Angle Vale Community Sports Centre (AVCSC) upgrade, just one week before it was set to finalise its 2020/21 Annual Business Plan and budget.

At a meeting last Tuesday night, elected members voted in favour of funding the remaining $4.1 million to complete the upgrade and added it to its upcoming budget.

The sport precinct is home to four clubs, the Angle Vale Football Club, Angle Vale Netball Club, Angle Vale Cricket Club and the Angle Vale Soccer Club, while the Angle Vale Sport and Community Association (AVSCA) overseas the management of the precinct.

More than 1200 people are registered as players between the four clubs, with AVSCA chairperson Jane Pogas telling The Bunyip teams had been turning prospective players away because they lacked resources to accommodate the demand.

She admitted to busting out a “happy dance” when she found out the project had been given the green light.

“Because our area is very young, clubs are having to turn players away because we don’t have the facilities to be able to put teams on the park,” she said.

“Now, you can open it up and turn kids away. Because once you turn a kid away from a sport, it’s very hard to get them back.

“If you say they can’t come and play here, they’ll go to another club or they will just give up sport and that’s something we really don’t want to happen.”

The redevelopment is set to see a junior football oval and junior soccer pitch built, an upgrade of the existing soccer pitch and the installation of flood lights and additional car parking.

Mrs Pogas said while encouraging more children to play at Angle Vale’s clubs is important, she hoped senior teams could use the upgraded facilities to become powerhouse teams in their respective leagues.

“We don’t have the history that other clubs do,” she said, “They may have 50 years of history while we don’t.

“Everyone is getting better in the senior grades. Cricket are in grade one and were second before the pandemic hit, the netball club is strong, footy will get there and soccer is really strong.

“This really does allow for that. We will be competitive as we are some of the biggest clubs in our respective associations. It can only be really positive.”

Playford, the most indebted council in South Australia, is set to borrow its $4.1 million contribution to the project.

A report presented at last week’s meeting encouraged councillors to back the project though, calling the investment “good debt”.

“The construction of Stage five of the AVCSC would increase council’s debt position, however this is considered good debt as it is being allocated to community infrastructure with the cost being shared across multiple generations,” the report read.

“The operating cost would be funded via growth and would not constitute a rate rise.

“Declining the funding would also create some reputational risk for council as numerous advocacy efforts have been made to attract Federal and State Government funding to help fund infrastructure across the City of Playford, particularly across the growth areas.”

Two councillors, Dennis Ryan and Andrew Craig, voted against funding the redevelopment.