Funding goal for soccer

By Callan Date
SOCCER players in Casey will be striking up a smile after a State Government grant of $60,000 to upgrade to Reema Reserve sports ground was announced on Tuesday.
Endeavour United Soccer Club will be the big winners, with the makeover set to include an extension to an existing soccer pitch, new lighting infrastructure and the relocation of an existing playground to a more accessible location.
The City of Casey has kicked in $138,000 towards the $198,000 project.
Sport and Recreation Minister James Merlino was at the ground during the week to make the funding announcement.
“More than 500 active members is testimony to the valued place Endeavour United has in the local community, bringing together people of different backgrounds and age groups, encouraging sport for all,” he said.
Club vice-president David Reeves said the funding had been a long time coming.
“That’s brilliant news. We have been pushing for this funding for about four years,” he said.
Mr Reeves said the money would allow the club to have two full-size pitches with lighting.
“It will benefit the club greatly as a whole and we are very, very happy to hear that news,” he said.
Mr Reeves said the extra pitch at Reema Reserve would take an enormous load off the use of the match-day pitch.
“We’re running, from junior, senior and women teams, 13 teams in total and we’ve got sub-juniors on top of that.”
He was also full of praise for councillor Rob Wilson, who was involved in the council funding commitment.
Narre Warren North MP Luke Donnellan congratulated Endeavour United Soccer Club and Casey on their successful funding application.
“This will benefit the whole community. Increasing the capacity of the sports ground will enable the club to hold competitions for under-10s and 15s and allow more than one team to train at a time,” he said.
“The reserve’s makeover will also strengthen ties with local schools, in particular students from Eumemmerring College who use the ground for sports training.”
Improvements to Reema Reserve’s lighting infrastructure will also allow members to use areas currently not lit after dark, reducing wear and tear on surfaces that already have lighting in place.
Mr Merlino said the grant demonstrated the Brumby Government’s commitment to provide quality sport and recreation facilities across Victoria.
“We want people to stay healthy and physically active, which is what our ‘Go for your life’ campaign is all about – getting more Victorians involved in sport and recreation in their local community,” he said.