A town’s main oval is glowing under four new light towers that give local sports clubs the chance to train and play well into the night.
Sel Bonnell Oval in Cooroy received a $540,000 upgrade, which included the installation of the towers and energy-efficient lights, delivered by the state government, Noosa Council, Cricket Australia and Queensland Cricket.
Noosa mayor Frank Wilkie said it was a major boost for community sports clubs and the wider community.
“This is a great example of our council staff working with local clubs, state government and national sporting bodies to improve local facilities and opportunities for our residents,” he said.
“Council appreciates the continued investment from the Queensland Government and Australian Cricket to help deliver this important infrastructure upgrade.
“It gives local sporting clubs who use Sel Bonnell Oval the flexibility to train and play well into the evening, opening up more opportunities for participation.”
One of the clubs to benefit will be Cooroora United Football Club.
Club secretary Barry Luckman said the lights would aid the club’s 32 teams that utilise oval the year-round.
“Our club has players aged from 4 to 70 years old and having these new lights will enable us to conduct more training sessions and skills clinics, especially for juniors as it is usually dark by 5pm in winter,” he said.
“So this will give youngsters from Eumundi, Tewantin, Cooran and even Gympie more opportunities to spend time doing physical activity and socialising with peers.”
Cooroy-Eumundi Cricket Club president David McVey said the upgrade was also a game-changer for the club’s four senior teams and three junior teams.
“This will allow our club to participate in day-night cricket and to train later into the evening, benefiting members who work late,” he said.
“We’ve already seen an increase in members this year knowing that the lights have been installed, with everyone eager to participate in a new form of cricket.”
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The timber poles from the old light towers are set to be repurposed by Noosa Council’s bridge team for future use, giving them a second life in local infrastructure.
The state government, through the 2024-27 South East Queensland Community Stimulus Program, contributed $500,000 to support the project.
Council also received a $40,000 grant from Cricket Australia and Queensland Cricket via the 2024-25 Australian Cricket Infrastructure Fund program.
Queensland Cricket state infrastructure manager Tom Gibson said grassroots cricket was a priority.
“This is one of over 300 projects the Australian Cricket Infrastructure Fund (ACIF) has helped to deliver for community cricket across Queensland since the ACIF was established in 2018,” he said.
