General News
17 October, 2025
Two projects costing over $700,000 to revitalise Princes Park sporting precinct
Maryborough’s Princes Park is experiencing a long-awaited rejuvenation, with two sporting construction projects costing just over $700,000 underway.
The larger of the preceding projects is at the Maryborough Tennis Centre, which is replacing its last bay of grass courts with five new synthetic grass courts that will be installed with lighting.
The project was made possible thanks to an allocation of $400,000 from the State Government’s 2022/23 Victorian Budget, with $71,700 from the Central Goldfields Shire Council, $31,300 via Tennis Australia and $20,000 from the tennis centre completing the funding.
According to Maryborough Tennis Centre president Heather Carr, the redevelopment marks a landmark moment in the club’s ongoing advocacy journey, which has spanned a decade.
“I think we are all quite excited. We have waited so long, we can’t believe it’s actually started because we have had to put in a lot of work to make it happen,” she said.
“The Central Goldfields Shire has been fantastic to deal with. Grant Rogers, who has been the project manager, has been wonderful and is always keeping us updated.
“It’s a little bit sweet and sour because the history of the grass courts has been here since 1938 and this was the last bay of our grass courts.
“A lot of our players that have been through the club over the years have a passion for grass, but to move forward to be sustainable and have safe courts is always our purpose.”
With noticeable cracks forming on the hard courts and a sustained drought making grass court maintenance challenging, the local tennis club began to advocate for funding to upgrade their courts in 2015.
Stage one of their court renewal occurred in 2018, with five synthetic grass courts replacing the existing grass courts thanks to a $150,000 grant from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning and fundraising efforts from the tennis centre.
The funding received from the 2022/23 Victorian Budget was originally slated for the club’s hard courts to be developed into a multi-purpose tennis and netball court.
The multi-purpose facility aimed to supply Maryborough Rovers, who had a long-term usage agreement with the centre, a permanent home after a 2015 Netball Victoria audit found the existing netball surface unsafe due to cracks.
However, after the Rovers merged with Royal Park to form the Maryborough Giants, the funds were repurposed to their grass courts, which Ms Carr said will bring a variety of positives to the club.
“For the general community, including for schools, they are going to have safe courts to play on, whereas the Corella damage caused major holes in the grass courts, where some were getting very unsafe to play every summer,” she said.
“The new bay of courts will save us money on water, greenskeeping costs, fertiliser for the grass and linemaking paint for the grass. I did a tentative calculation and it’s possibly going to save us $10,000 a year in maintenance.
“We are going to put more of that money back into tennis programs and keep our costs down for memberships.”
“The light towers included in the project will allow us to have full 12-month tennis programs, a couple of our programs haven’t been able to run, particularly during winter, because we didn’t have lights.
“Once this is done, we will continue to advocate for the completion of the hard court bay and then the tennis centre will be complete for years to come.”
Across the road at Princes Park Oval, the implementation of four brand-new turf cricket pitches is complete and the turf is currently undergoing a 13-week wait to reestablish itself.
The $190,000 project, which is funded by the State Government ($100,000) with contributions from the local council ($50,000) and Cricket Australia ($40,000), is a massive boost for the Maryborough Cricket Club, which has recently returned to the MDCA’s A grade competition.
“We will have hours and hours back in our pocket throughout the week not watering, rolling and planning that we can spend training or time at home with our families,” Maryborough Cricket Club president Troy Bursill said.
“It means a lot to have a surface that every other club has always had and we have never had it.
“We have been eyeing this for at least the last six years, especially the last three years.
“Craig Jennings, who has since passed away, put in a lot of work with grants and submissions for the pitch and now it’s come through.”
Regarding both projects, Central Goldfields Shire councillor Jake Meyer said he’s delighted to see sustainable investment in Maryborough’s vital sporting precincts.
“The Maryborough Cricket Club and the Maryborough Tennis Association have been advocating for these projects for many years. We thank them for their tireless efforts and are thrilled these projects are now coming to fruition,” he said.
“We also extend our thanks to the Victorian Government for their contribution to both projects, along with our other funding partners —Cricket Australia, Tennis Australia and the Maryborough Tennis Centre.
“We look forward to seeing the new facilities used and enjoyed by future generations in the years to come.”
Member for Ripon Martha Haylett echoed Cr Meyer’s comments, encouraging the community to make the most of the updated facilities when they are both scheduled to open in early 2026.
“These big sports upgrades will make our clubs and community even better. They will help get more locals involved in cricket and tennis, and give our hard-working sporting clubs the new facilities they deserve,” she said.
“I am proud to have secured funding for these projects through the State Labor Government, so that Maryborough can thrive now and into the future.”