Simply The Best
By Lawrence Machado
Parramatta Eels Chief Executive Officer Jim Sarantinos is so proud of the new training facilities coming up at Kellyville Memorial Park that he expects it to be “the best rugby league facility in the country”.
Works already done by The Hills Shire Council as part of the Master Plan for the park include the construction of a new playing field, refurbishment of two existing fields, construction of a new car park and access from Stone Mason Drive.
Apart from the works, the council recently resolved to enter into a licence agreement with the Parramatta NRL for the joint redevelopment and use of Kellyville Memorial Park as a premier rugby league facility.
“We are proud to say this will become the best rugby league facility in the country,” Sarantinos said.
“The project is testament to the great relationship our club has with the council and we look forward to seeing the precinct develop further for the local community over the coming years.”
A council spokesperson said that once the work is complete, there will be five rugby league grounds, along with the existing baseball field and facilities.
Eels players should be using the two new fields 1 and 3 for their training at Kellyville Memorial Park by the end of the year.
The Eels are also building a $40 million Centre of Excellence at the park, with the Federal Government committing $15 million to the project, which will be the largest community rugby league facility in Australia, according to the club.
The Hills Shire Mayor Dr Michelle Byrne said the extension of the fields “is just a small piece in the bigger picture to transform Kellyville Memorial Park into a premier rugby league facility. Our community is growing, and we need to provide further opportunities for play, as well as a pathway for our emerging talent to reach a representative level in their chosen sport.”
“I’m so proud of the work we are doing at Kellyville Memorial Park and I’m looking forward to seeing our community using these new and improved fields very soon.
The new grounds will add to the existing fields onsite, and will be used by the Parramatta NRL their training facility.
The majority of the playing field expansion project is being carried out by Western Earthmoving.
The council spokesperson said the value of the field extension works is around $1.4 million and the new fields will also be used by the community.
