NO.127

$3 MILLION TO UPGRADE CAZALY’S STADIUM – CAIRNS

I am pleased to announce that a re-elected Coalition Government will provide $3 million to AFL Cairns towards the upgrade of Cazaly’s Stadium in Cairns.

Cazaly’s Stadium is an important sporting and community resource in the Far North Queensland Region, providing not only a venue for AFL and cricket, but also a home for local and visiting cultural and music events.

The Coalition’s commitment will ensure that the Stadium can continue to host national and international sporting events, including international cricket test matches, the NAB AFL preseason competition, AFL Cairns fixture matches and the Cricket Far North finals.

The additional funding will enable the Stadium to meet the AFL’s Minimum Standard for Venues including increasing the size of player dressing rooms, providing adequate first aid and medical facilities and improved coaching facilities.

The Coalition’s funding will mean the Stadium can increase lighting levels to allow the broadcast of games from Cazaly’s Stadium at high quality throughout the region. It will also increase safety for international cricket matches which requires a near doubling of the current lighting capacity.

Cazaly’s Stadium is the home of AFL Football in Far North Queensland, not just for the residents of Cairns, but for the whole of Cape York and the Torres Strait Islands.

The Stadium provides a ground for representative matches, school championships and club football. It has attracted many more young people into the game, particularly young Indigenous Australians, and is providing a pathway for young Indigenous Australians to get into the senior AFL game, including Courtney Dempsey and Jarrod Harbrow.

The Coalition Government’s $3 million contribution is contingent upon matching funding for the redevelopment being obtained by AFL Cairns from Queensland or local governments, AFL Cairns itself, or the corporate sector.

CAIRNS

1 November 2007

Contact:Renae Stoikos 0418 568 434