A major upgrade will help shed light on two additional soccer pitches at Harold Preston Reserve, Traralgon, thanks to a $100,000 State Government boost.
Sport Minister John Eren made the announcement with Melbourne Victory star Archie Thompson in Traralgon on Friday that will benefit the Traralgon City and Traralgon Olympians soccer clubs.
The announcement means the clubs will have access to five pitches under lights.
“It means we will be able to stay off our main ground in winter,” Traralgon City Soccer Club president Iain Edgar said.
“The grounds get a bit muddy and it will keep our grounds in good condition because it means we can rotate through each one.
“It gives us the opportunity to host more night games, more training areas for our juniors and seniors to play on so it’s very timely news.”
The funding comes as part of the ‘Victorian Asia Cup 2015 Legacy Fund’ which is being used to upgrade soccer grounds across Victoria.
Mr Eren said the government was working closely with Football Federation Victoria to distribute the funds accordingly.
“There are over 66,000 people in Victoria who play soccer, which is a phenomenal amount,” he said.
“There’s a lot of pressure on (the government) with the population growth to make sure that we incorporate into our infrastructure planning to look after soccer clubs, particularly in regional areas.
“We know how popular the English Premier League is, I’m a Liverpool fan by the way… so it’s extremely important (to fund soccer projects).”
