Stirling Oval to receive scoreboard, amenities in $50k upgrade

Molonglo Juggernauts believe the upgrades will make Stirling Oval a sporting centre for the Molonglo region. Photo: George Tsotsos.

The ageing ground facilities of Stirling Oval are set to undergo $50,000 worth of upgrades by the Federal Government which will install an electronic scoreboard, undercover seating and improve bathroom facilities at the ground.

The home of Molonglo Juggernauts AFL Club hasn’t been upgraded in over thirty years, with hopes the scoreboard, upgraded seating for spectators and disability access bathroom facilities at the ground will help increase and diversify participation of the sport.

Liberal Senator for the ACT Zed Seselja said the investment, which is part of the Community Sport Infrastructure Grant program that is upgrading local facilities across Australia and the ACT, will help drive increased local participation in sport and physical activity.

Mr Seselja said he was committed to supporting local grassroots sports and local sporting facilities because of the wider health, social and community benefits that come from getting involved and participating in sport.

“It is a key priority of our government to promote the social and health benefits of physical activity and sport, and I will continue to push to ensure our local sporting groups in Canberra are invested in, to upgrade the facilities of our local clubs and encourage more Canberrans to get involved and get active,” he said.

“The ground facilities at Stirling Oval haven’t been upgraded in over thirty years, and this grant will help bring them in line with the facilities available in other regions of the ACT.

“The Juggernauts are a great community club that doesn’t have a large backing of licenced clubs like some other sporting clubs. They are very much are a grassroots club so I think it is really important that we support them.”

The upgrades to Stirling Oval follows on from community sports infrastructure builds on the grants already delivered across the ACT to the Canberra Netball Association, Southlands Tennis Club and Arawang Netball Association.

“Whatever sport you play, we want to see how we can work with local sporting clubs to get behind them,” Mr Seselja said.

Molonglo Juggernauts president Jacob Dunne believed the upgrades will make Stirling Oval a sporting centre for the Molonglo region.

“We share this ground with AFL juniors and masters as well as cricket and this gives us an opportunity to provide a touchpoint for a lot of the community,” he shared. “We are a very small community club. We field three teams, we run on volunteer hours and no one is paid in our club.

“So the upgrades would keep things moving and make opportunity in this community space. We hope that we will start to build a pathway into the club.”