The federal government has announced half a million dollars of funding to improve facilities at Russell Square sporting ground.
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The change facility for juniors at the oval will be upgraded with the cash, which comes after a successful bid through the government's Move It AUS - Community Sport Infrastructure program.
Getting investment into grassroots sporting facilities is very important for the health of the community
- Timothy Vo, Liberal Party Candidate for Ballarat
Timothy Vo, the Liberal candidate of Ballarat, was at the ground to publicise the funding.
"Getting investment into grassroots sporting facilities is very important for the health of the community at large," Mr Vo told The Courier, saying the new facilities would encourage more girls to get involved in sport.
He said the funding would pay for a new female-friendly changing facility for junior football and netball and replace older changing rooms that currently had no shower or toilet.
The grant program received more than 2,050 applications with a total of $396 million in grant requests. The program had a total of $60.6 million worth of funding at its disposal, helping a total of 456 separate projects around the country.
We've seen such a great pick-up of women in sport since we've been focusing on making sure they have appropriate infrastructure to encourage them to participate, so this is great for everyone in Ballarat
- Samantha McIntosh, City of Ballarat mayor
Each project was funded to a maximum of $500,000. This $500,000 funding is part of an additional $40 million for the Community Sport Infrastructure Grant program which was allocated in the 2019-20 Budget - but had not previously been announced.
New changing rooms at Russell Square were opened in 2015 as part of a major upgrade to the centre including a new netball court, irrigation and drainage for the soccer pitches.
The City of Ballarat mayor Samantha McIntosh said that council would also contribute $250,000 of funding.
"We've seen such a great pick-up of women in sport since we've been focusing on making sure they have appropriate infrastructure to encourage them to participate, so this is great for everyone in Ballarat."
The current MP Catherine King said the Labor Party would match the funding if Labor were elected into government on May 18.
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