Councillors to vote on Creek Road sports precinct masterplan in Maryland

newy.com.au – Newcastle councillors will decide at Tuesday’s Ordinary Council Meeting whether to adopt an updated masterplan for a new district level sports facility on Creek Road in Maryland, after the City of Newcastle unveiled its preferred final layout for the undeveloped five-hectare site.

If endorsed, the Creek Road Masterplan would guide the staged development of a multisport precinct intended to support growth in Newcastle’s western suburbs, with the design shaped by community feedback and input from sporting associations and local clubs.

The preferred design includes two premier size rectangular fields for football, rugby league and rugby union, along with two smaller junior rectangular fields and a cricket oval with four turf wickets.

City of Newcastle executive manager community and recreation Lynn Duffy said consultation influenced changes to the plan, including “ensuring Fields 1 and 2 are premier size rectangular fields”, adding bus parking for larger events such as gala days, and moving more parking spaces closer to the junior fields.

“Extensive feedback was sought from key user groups and the broader community to ensure the needs of all users were considered,” Duffy said, adding that the preferred sporting codes identified for Creek Road were football, rugby league, rugby union and cricket.

The precinct is planned to include cricket practice nets and a dual-facing grandstand with four changerooms, two referee rooms, a first aid room, a canteen and an upstairs multipurpose club room, with the facilities described as fully accessible and female friendly.

Plans also include parking for around 100 cars, bus parking on Creek Road, terraced seating, toilets and storage areas, additional trees, fitness stations, open space and a walking trail through the adjacent wetland.

The process to determine which clubs can use the facility will begin after detailed feasibility and design work, with Duffy saying it was expected to involve an expression of interest process.

“In relation to netball and tennis, alternative locations for additional courts in the area will be investigated as part of our review of the Strategic Sports Plan,” she said.

Sports Infrastructure Working Party chair Cr Peta Winney-Baartz said the project was likely to be delivered in stages during the next five to 10 years and would require support from state and federal funding.

She said the project would convert vacant land — “some of which used to be a filling site for coal washery waste” — into a multisport community space, while providing walking trails through the wetland and adding trees and landscaping.

Detailed design work is expected to begin in 2026/27 if councillors endorse the masterplan next week.