SAFE AND SOUND: Member for Kiama Gareth Ward inspects the new security fence surrounding the Bomaderry Oval with Bomaderry Junior Rugby League Football Club president Steve McConville and Lisa McConville.
THE Bomaderry Junior Rugby League Football Club will have something other than its rising membership numbers to celebrate this year.
The club will now be able to host finals games thanks to a security fence which is being erected around the Bomaderry Oval, off Cambewarra Road.
The club has always been restricted from hosting rugby league group 7 finals games as the organisation requires that the grounds must be secure to uphold the strict no glass and alcohol policy and to charge admission.
Now just weeks from completion, the fence was made possible after Member for Kiama, Gareth Ward, successfully sought $60,000 in funding from the NSW Government for this project.
“This is massive for us,” said club president Steve McConville.
“I don’t think Bomaderry has ever hosted a junior grand final. This club has grown from five teams in the competition to 11, so we are only getting more and more interest,” he said.
McConville said the secure ground was the next step towards creating and hosting a senior league.
“Our next project will be to get a disabled toilet, then this will be one of the most state of the art grounds on the South Coast,” he said.
McConville said the club has spent a lot of time and money fixing damage caused by vandals.
Although pedestrian access is still available from the complex, the fence will restrict vehicle access during non-training times.
Ward said he looked forward to seeing the finished product.
“Sports tourism is important for the area. And this club competition brings rugby league to the area and to Bomaderry,” he said.
“The fence will add security to the ground. Obviously vandalism has been a problem in the past, so this will hopefully put a stop to anything major being done.”
The secure oval will benefit other sporting organisations such as the Bomaderry Cricket Club and the local touch organisation, which use the complex.
The fence also adds security to the ground that is often frequented by the students and teachers at Bomaderry High School.
“A lot of sports check alcohol at the door, so now other codes may make use of the ground, which I think is fantastic,” said Ward.