By Callan Date
CASEY Council will spend more than $150,000 to allow several football and soccer clubs to train at night.
The money will be spent on installing floodlighting at four reserves throughout Casey after ongoing drought conditions resulted in council restricting the use of more than 10 of its sporting ovals.
Sweeney Reserve Soccer Fields in Berwick, Reid Reserve in Doveton, Casey Fields Oval two and Lawson Poole Reserve in Cranbourne will have lighting installed immediately.
The council will also tip in an extra $20,000 to install a temporary pavilion and toilets at the Sweeney Reserve site.
The Berwick and Narre Warren football clubs will now train at Casey Fields until their own grounds are determined as safe to use.
Berwick’s home ground, Edwin Flack Reserve, is off limits until the second half of the football season while Narre Warren Football Club is expected to be back on its Kalora Park oval by mid-May.
Several Casey soccer clubs, including Berwick Regional Churches Soccer Club and Endeavour United Soccer Club, will also be required to train at alternative venues.
Narre Warren Football Club president Kim McGill has welcomed the lighting move, and said the council was doing its utmost to make a ground available for use.
“It’s great that they have made Casey Fields available for us. The council has been really good,” Mr McGill said.
He said the full extent of the interrupted pre-season would not be known until the season proper kicked off on 28 April.
Mr McGill said Kalora Park was set to be top soiled and re-seeded today (Thursday) and hopefully be ready for the club’s first home match against Hampton Park on 19 May.
The council decision to fund the lighting has been made with the thought that sporting participation in the area will continue to grow.
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