Kurri Kurri Bulldogs home ground’s $1m lighting and facilities upgrade is complete

newy.com.au – A $1 million upgrade of Kurri Kurri Sports Ground, home of the Kurri Kurri Bulldogs rugby league club, has been completed in Kurri Kurri, according to Hunter MP Dan Repacholi.

The project has delivered new lighting, female-friendly changerooms and other facilities at the Allworth Street venue after Cessnock City Council secured a $1 million grant from the Albanese Government’s Investing in Our Communities program to upgrade Kurri Kurri Sports Ground facilities.

In a social media post, Repacholi said “The $1 million upgrade of the home of the mighty Kurri Kurri Bulldogs is now officially complete and she’s looking absolutely schmick”, thanking federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King for backing the project and calling it a big win for local sport and families.

Repacholi said the work included four new light poles and floodlights so junior players can train and play at night, refurbished changerooms, new player shelters and updated goal posts. The upgrade has also provided a dedicated first aid room, a referee’s room and extra storage, and one of the ground’s modified fields has been levelled and re-turfed.

A mayoral column in the February 2024 edition of community newsletter Our Own News said the federal funding would also pay for a new storage facility for Kurri Kurri Rotary Club alongside the first aid and referee’s rooms. It said the grant would allow upgrades to “these fantastic local facilities in Kurri Kurri”, after Catherine King visited the ground earlier that month to confirm the funding.

The $1 million contribution appears in federal documents outlining projects funded under the Investing in Our Communities program, which list “Kurri Kurri Sports Ground facilities upgrade” as a grant to Cessnock City Council. The same document records a separate $373,000 grant for lighting at the Cessnock Goannas Rugby League Club ground.

Cessnock City Council’s July 2024 newsletter reported that the Kurri Kurri Sports Ground facilities project formed part of a broader capital works program worth about $45.9 million for accessible infrastructure and transport links across the local government area. In that update, council listed “Kurri Kurri Sportsground: lighting and field improvements” among its upcoming projects.

The Kurri Kurri Bulldogs, founded in 1911, play in the Newcastle Rugby League competition and use Kurri Kurri Sports Ground as their home base. The ground also hosts a range of community events, with council advertising outdoor cinema nights and other school holiday activities at the Allworth Street venue.

Repacholi joked that the only thing not refreshed in the overhaul was the height of the shower heads, saying they were ideal for his 6 foot 8 frame but might leave average-height locals on their toes. He thanked King, Hunter-based Labor colleague Meryl Swanson and local volunteers and officials for their role in delivering the project.

With the upgrade now in place, the focus turns to using the ground more often, including for night training and matches throughout the Newcastle Rugby League season. Cessnock City Council is also progressing plans for a shared pathway linking Pelaw Main village, Log of Knowledge Park, Kurri Kurri Sports Ground and Kurri Kurri town centre, aimed at improving walking and cycling access to the venue and eventually connecting to the Richmond Vale Rail Trail.