The council is currently seeking an additional $166,876 grant from the State’s Department of Industry Public Reserves management fund. 

This comes after the state government’s $200,000 grant announced by Goulburn MP Pru Goward in the middle of last year, and the council’s $400,000 contribution. 

“Victoria Park is critical for Goulburn, it’s very extraordinary and lucky to have this complex in the middle of town,” Goward said.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to improve this facility. We’ve needed it for years. It was important for me to get that money, it concerns hundreds of families.” 

The project falls under the Victoria Park master plan. Funds were originally allocated to light repairs but after greater consultation between representatives of the Goulburn District Cricket Association (GDCA), a greater focus was put on the pavilion, housed near the oval’s rear car park.

Currently, there is a pavilion which is separate to the equipment room and toilets. As part of the new plan, the pavilion will incorporate all the facilities in the new building. 

The council has submitted the development application and hopes to find a tenderer in the new financial year.

“Last year we did a master plan on the future of Victoria Park and a component of that was to consolidate things. So this building in particular will be the first step in that direction,” Goulburn Mulwaree Council’s operations director Matt O'Rourke said. 

The project has been in the works for the last nine to 12 months.

“This has been an example of real good community consultation. The working party has been instrumental in the layout of this facility,” he said.

Mr O’Rourke says the proactive involvement of GDCA president Tim Price should not go unacknowledged. 

“Tim’s assistance has given a very clear direction of this project. [He] acknowledged we may have missed out on regional events because of the sub standard facility here.This will put us in better stead to win regional events going into the future,” he said.

President of the Goulburn District Cricket Association (GDCA) Tim Price welcomes plans drafted for Seiffert Oval’s pavilion upgrade by the council and hopes it will encourage a greater focus on sporting club advancements in the near future. 

Price, an active member of the council’s Working Party, said he did not believe resurfacing the oval and conducting light repairs should be a priority, as originally discussed when the council received state government funding mid last year.

On the same day the $200,000 grant was received, Price penned a letter highlighting the need to repair the pavilion. This was fueled by his embarrassment in March 2016, when the GDCA hosted the Australian Cricketers Association  20/20 Masters. 

“To be perfectly blunt I was embarrassed to take them through the facilities,” he said. 

“Within the next couple of months the Working Party decided the focus should be put on the oval’s amenities.”

About six or seven planning documents were discussed between diverse sporting representatives on the construction of the pavilion. 

If the $766,000 is procured, the old toilet block and storage space will be demolished and the new building will include an official changing room, disabled toilets, a function room service area and a rolling door to run a canteen. 

“This infrastructure will be the biggest thing to happen in cricket in my living memory,” Price said. 

“Now we’ll be able to get representative junior and senior games but in general it’s for local cricketers, the heart and soul of the game. They’ll have the facilities they deserve.” 

Councillor Margaret O’Neill, who wrote a letter to secure funding from the State Government, said the oval could be used for more than just cricket. 

“It is important for Goulburn and the district, we can really utilise this space,” she said. “They don’t just look at the fields, they look at the amenities.” 

Plans for the upgraded pavilion will soon be available on public exhibition on the Goulburn Mulwaree Council’s website.