THE future of night sporting events in Katherine is suddenly a lot brighter after the council secured a $450,000 Northern Territory government grant to fund new lighting infrastructure.
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Sport and Recreation Minister Nathan Barrett announced the windfall on April 17, with Katherine Town Council securing the lion’s share of the $1.65 million funding package.
Improving the lighting at the council-owned sporting precinct has been high on the agenda since it became home to 10 clubs and more than 2200 junior and senior sportspeople following the sudden closure of the Katherine Sports and Recreation Club in December 2015.
The grant will be used to install six new lighting towers on field two and replace the heads on the four towers already in operation.
As a result of the infrastructure upgrade, up to four playing surfaces at a time will be lit enough to accommodate nighttime clashes, opening the door for some sports to move their competitions from weekend to after-hours formats.
This is really as a result of the [Katherine Sports and Recreation Club] and the recognition … that we need to have facilities here to support our sporting groups.
- Member for Katherine Willem Westra van Holthe
Member for Katherine Willem Westra van Holthe said the grant was a direct response to the closure of the Katherine Sports and Recreation Club and represented a win for the community.
“This is really as a result of the [Katherine Sports and Recreation Club] and the recognition … that we need to have facilities here to support our sporting groups,” he said.
“We could see a whole new area being used for a multitude of sports.”
The council will now tender for the installation and mayor Fay Miller said it was unlikely that the project would have a financial impost on ratepayers.
“This will pretty much cover it, depending on the style we’re able to put up here,” she said.
