By Alesha Capone
A $25 million elite training facility will be built in Tarneit, adjacent to the 15,000 seat Wyndham City Stadium – the home of Western United Football Club – to be constructed on Sayers Road.
The training facility will include three pitches, with seating for 5000 spectators at the main grass pitch.
The facility will be jointly funded and developed by Wyndham City and the Western Melbourne Group, for the shared use of the Western United Football Club, its associated teams and the wider Wyndham community.
Wyndham mayor Josh Gilligan said: “As well as being used for football, the facility can also be used for other rectangular sports like rugby league and union.
“Plans for this state-of-the-art facility also include a second grass pitch, and a third synthetic pitch that will primarily be open to the community.
“As we begin to approach the COVID-19 recovery phase, large projects like this amazing new sporting precinct will play a central role in ensuring our local economy bounces back, while creating more jobs and providing better community assets.”
Wyndham council’s director of deals, investments and major projects, Kate Roffey, said the announcement was a big win for Wyndham, and the west more broadly.
Western United FC chairman Jason Sourasis said the training facility was “fantastic news for the club”.
“Building the Western United Football Club and growing the game of football in the west has always been the ambitious vision of all involved in the project,” Mr Sourasis said.
“The training precinct is all about the growth of the sport, the ability for kids to train close to their A-League heroes, and for football in the west to have a strong pathway from junior football to the elite level – there’s more kids playing football than any other sport in this country so we’re really proud to be able to build this amazing facility for the kids of the west.”
The concept masterplan for 1160 Sayers Road North, where the elite training facility will be built, has been developed in collaboration with Wyndham council.
The masterplan forms part of a planning document which has been submitted to the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning for approval.
The application is currently being assessed, with an outcome expected in the near future.
Construction on the new precinct is planned to commence early next year and is expected to be completed in 2023.
