The council began investigating options to increase the capacity and resilience of its sporting facilities back in 2022 after Deputy Mayor Ola Hamed raised the issue on behalf of frustrated football mums, dads, players and organisations whose teams were sidelined throughout the year with fields too wet to play on – “And, of course, we all know how 2024 is going”.
The new synthetic fields will be located at Progress Park in Auburn and Merrylands Park in Merrylands.
Cr Hamed said the “dire state of our fields calls for immediate attention and remediation”.
“Sports and recreation are integral to our community. They strengthen social bonds, foster a sense of belonging, and contribute to the fabric of our community,” she said.
“Our local sports clubs in Cumberland aspire to fulfil these roles, but they can only do so with access to high-quality sporting fields.”
Speaking about the impacts on one young player’s mental health, Cr Hamed said “we watched him deflate like a balloon every time we cancelled games and training because the fields were simply not up to scratch. We saw him struggle with his own mental health. He broke our hearts every time we sent out that email.
“This is why we need to act.”
She said Cumberland didn’t have a single synthetic field, which, of course, meant the only option for families when it rained was to stay home.
“And when it rains a lot we are in front of the tele a lot. We can fix this.”
New ‘all-weather’ sporting fields
WITH much of this year’s junior winter sports sidelined due to bad weather, a $5 million Cumberland Council plan will make two grounds playable year-round with the use of synthetic fields.
