It could very well happen if given the right support according to Goulburn Mulwaree Council general manager Warwick Bennett.

Mr Bennett hopes a proposal to be submitted to Council early in the new year will be met with a positive response.

His vision is for an estimated $7 million rectangular stadium that would have a 1500-2000 seat grand-stand with amenities, capable of significantly boosting Goulburn’s sports tourism appeal.

The venue would also utilise existing facilities at Carr Confoy and will be made with preventative measures against flooding.

He hopes such a development would turn the entire Carr Confoy area into a sports hub capable of hosting large scale national and state sporting tournaments and carnivals.

It’s an ambitious and interesting idea, but it does beg a few questions. Does Goulburn need such a sporting hub?

Mr Bennett argues so. As Mid Western Regional Council (Mudgee) general manager he over-saw the development of Mudgee’s $13.1 million Glen Willow Regional Sporting Complex which opened in 2012.

Those facilities included a 10,000 seat stadium (1,000 undercover grand-stand), that has since seen it attract a number of sporting tournaments as well as an NRL premiership match and the NRL’s City vs Country representative clash.

“Think of the possibilities a state of the art stadium would bring to Goulburn,” Mr Bennett said.

“It would be a significant sporting economic driver for sports tourism.”

Mr Bennett argues Goulburn’s central geographic location is capable of attracting large regional tournaments. He highlights large scale tournaments of 30-40 teams that would utilise the Goulburn economy up to weeks at a time.

“I think when attracting opportunities like this we need to be competitive,” Mr Bennett said.

“It would contribute significantly to the local economy. This wouldn’t be a facility that would attract two or three events a year, but be used all year round.”

He also argues such a complex would only complement existing infrastructure such as the Workers Arena, Poidevin Oval and existing soccer fields.

In terms of funding, Mr Bennett says he’ll wait until the idea is approved by Council before exploring options.

However he mentioned a number of external grant funding paths available including “cheap state government loans on offer.”

“This needs to be approved before we look into those options,” he said.

“Once it is, we’ll have a 12-15 month period of planning. That’s only if council and the community want it, I cant stress that enough.”

So do we want it?

THE IDEA of a major stadium for Goulburn isn't a new one. Twenty years ago (20 years, 2 months and 13 days ago to be precise) the Post and Cr Bob Kirk ran the idea of pooling resources for a major stadium past Goulburn's various football organisations. The idea didn't get off the ground at the time. Here's that story.