JOHNSON Oval might now be in a league of its own among the city’s sporting fields as council staff put the finishing touches on the premier ground.
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It was a speedy effort from Tamworth Regional Council’s staff who completely redeveloped the Gipps Street field in about five months.
Council’s manager of sport and recreation, Paul Kelly, said, ideally, the redevelopment of sporting pitch should put it out of action for 12 months.
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Faced with an unusually dry and warm start to year, Mr Kelly said council’s access to underground bores, made the project possible.
Mr Kelly wouldn’t reveal how much the redevelopment cost, but said the work was essentially brought-on by council’s tiered fee restructure for its grounds.
“We said that Johnson Oval is a premier field for Northern Inland Football and so the state of it previously definitely wasn’t premier,” he said.
Mr Kelly said council was always looking at what grounds around town needed work and didn’t believe the upgraded Johnson oval would hamper his staff’s usual maintenance routine.
“That doesn’t mean we would neglect everything around us,” he said.
“There’s still a lot of work that’s going-on on these other fields, we’re looking at a whole lot of work in irrigation this winter, which will improve our grass cover going into the growing season in spring and summer.”
Northern Inland Football general manager Julia Farina said the Gipps Street facility was now one of the “top pitches” in the region.
“The commitment that council has placed with the rejuvenation of this field and the foresight to invest the time and the effort in giving us what we can see today, is a huge benefit for a football community,” Ms Farina said.
The under-16s will get the first kick on the new ground this Saturday, but, before too long, Ms Farina the local men’s and women’s premier league sides will get a run too.
She said there had been a lot of anticipation in soccer circles surrounding the unveiling of the new field.
“A number of children have been coming across on the weekend, trying to have a bit more of run and a play,” she said.
“I think it’s very exciting.
“It’s about obviously respecting our facilities as well, to have a field such as this in our region is an asset and we need to value and protect that.”