Friday 28 February 2025

Wangaratta’s indoor sports participants are flocking to the Wangaratta Sports and Aquatic Centre with the completion of the recent indoor stadium expansion, backed by the Victorian Government.

Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes today joined Wangaratta Rural City Council to officially open the newly transformed indoor sports stadium, made possible by a $5.47 million investment from the Victorian Government’s Community Sports Infrastructure Stimulus Program.

Sport is the lifeblood of regional communities with the Centre an integral part of the social fabric of this sports-loving community.

The stadium expansion comes complete with two new multisport courts marked for netball, basketball and volleyball, increasing the venue’s number of courts to five. There are also new gym facilities to cater for extra demand.

The show court has also been upgraded to competition standard with the seating capacity increased to 900 allowing for future NBL and WNBL games to be hosted at the venue.

Together the upgrades provide a real home court advantage for the more than 2,000 participants that play in the local Wangaratta Basketball Association, Wangaratta Netball Association and Wangaratta Volleyball Association.

In addition, the Victorian Budget 2023-24 provided up to $3 million dollars towards upgrades to Netball infrastructure at the Wangaratta Sports and Aquatic Centre.  Planning for this project is underway.

The Victorian Budget 2024/25 is providing more than $23 million continue delivery of community sport and active recreation infrastructure, and programs to increase participation opportunities and improve accessibility.

From court redevelopments to new stadiums, investments like these provide high-quality and accessible places for Victorians to reap the benefits of sport and active recreation participation.

Jaclyn Symes MP acknowledged Wangaratta Rural City Council for its more than $6.9 million financial contribution and commitment to delivering the project.

For more information about infrastructure grant opportunities available through the Victorian Government visit sport.vic.gov.au.

Quotes attributable to Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes

“These upgrades are a great example of how we’re making Victoria’s regional and rural towns even better places to live, work, stay and play.”

“Congratulations to the people of Wangaratta – the stadium expansion will go a long way to supporting the growing numbers of locals keen to get involved in an even wider range of indoor sports.”

“A better show court also gives this town a real advantage when it comes to attracting the big events.”