The Essential Community Sport Assets Program is jointly funded by the Federal and NSW Governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements, as part of the broader Community Local Infrastructure Recovery Package (CLIRP).
Funding has been awarded to 96 projects to repair and rebuild damaged facilities impacted by the February or June floods.
The Essential Community Sport Assets Program offered grants across two streams with between $150,000 to $1 million available to councils in 74 Local Government Areas (LGAs), and grants of $15,000 to $500,000 available to sporting organisations and others groups that deliver sports programs.
Federal Minister for Emergency Management Murray Watt said the funding would help devastated communities across NSW recover.
“This funding will make damaged sporting infrastructure more resilient in the future, including through drainage, irrigation and track improvements,” Minister Watt said.
“Through the CLIRP program, the Australian Government’s priority is to continue to support the rebuild, repair and betterment of essential arts and culture, sports and Aboriginal community assets for communities affected by last year’s devastating floods.”
Federal Minister for Sport Anika Wells said the package would help a range of communities.
“Sport is fundamentally about community and coming together to achieve a common goal whether you are on the field, in the canteen or in the crowd,” Minister Wells said.
“This funding will help communities to heal long-term, and I’m pleased to see local sport get a leg up in the recovery process.”
NSW Minister for Sport Alister Henskens said these projects would breathe new life into sporting clubs in flood-affected communities.
“The NSW Government has already delivered $12 million in grants to help rebuild and repair community sport infrastructure in eight priority LGAs that were affected by flooding,” Mr Henskens said.
“This additional boost, jointly funded by the Commonwealth Government, will improve or upgrade 96 community sporting facilities across NSW, helping people of all ages get back on the field and playing the sports they love.”
Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cooke said the repair of community sporting infrastructure was a vital part of the recovery process.
“Repairing community sporting infrastructure after the devastating flooding is an important step in helping communities get back to a sense of normality,” Ms Cooke said.
“The projects will also create jobs and benefit local economies, which is a key part of the recovery process.”
