Our Issues: What has happened to the Dubbo Sporting Hub?

The project which was announced in 2018, was planned to be home to several sporting organisations and the facilities to host training camps/matches as well as an indoor PCYC premise.

Mr Saunders said the project is still on its way and the final steps before construction begins are almost over.

"The project itself is hopefully only weeks away from the first of the DAs (development applications) approved by [Dubbo Regional Council]," he said.

"That is a process that has involved quite a bit of collaboration but we are quite close to the first of those DAs coming out which will be early work.

"So all the civil stuff that has to happen like moving a lot of dirt and all the drainage plus sewerage as well as all the things that go into a building site first.

"Hopefully we are fairly close to that happening."

NSW Rugby are hopeful project will benefit multiple organisations

NSW Rugby's Angus McDonald was one of the sporting organisation representatives who were at Charles Sturt University in 2018 when then Member for Dubbo Troy Grant announced the project.

Mr McDonald said the facility would greatly benefit a number of sports, not just rugby.

"It just gives a regional base for all sports which is the exciting part about the proposal," he said.

"You don't have to send kids to Sydney or a capital city, especially out west where there is so much distance, they can come to Dubbo and stay for the holiday or high-performance camps.

"You can fly out people from Sydney, it is just very much needed in the west and I think people realise that as well.

"It's an important part of support and a lot of things we are doing around health and wellbeing."

Dubbo Rugby Club and NSW Rugby currently use Victoria Park for the majority of their training sessions but are forced to use other sites during the summer months as cricket clubs use the facilities.

Mr McDonald knows the town has some great places for sport but believes it is tough to get fields for pre-season or high-performance training sessions.

"I think there are some fantastic facilities in Dubbo but there is a lot of sport here," he said.

"Those fields get a lot of wear as well and you've got a club like the Dubbo Rugby Club who are almost at capacity on any given night there.

"This will allow them to grow if we move out there, that was the discussion we were having whether there is space for them to move out.

"Then if there are more fields they can expand and run more Friday nights, I know they are really keen on getting a girl's competition as well.

"I know there is plenty of ovals but there are plenty of people playing sport."

Rugby is a sport which is growing rapidly in the Central West, largely in part to the popularity of rugby sevens and the emergence of local stars who are making a name for themselves in national systems.

"It is [in a good place]. You add on the up-and-coming girls as well that are doing some amazing things," Mr McDonald said.

"Whether it's playing for NSW Country in the under 18s or I know there were a lot of girls from the Central West who represented NSW and excelled.

"It's getting stronger, something like the sporting hub would mean they wouldn't have to travel that much.

"Ultimately it's move to Sydney or stay in the country."

Narromine's Rebecca Smyth has previously represented the Wallaroos while Lillyann Mason-Spice is currently part of the same squad and Bathurst's Jakiya Whitfield has played for Australia in rugby sevens in recent tournaments around the world.

Along with the success out of town, the Dubbo Rugby Club also boasts one of the strongest junior nurseries around.

Dubbo has the privilege of being a rural centre for a lot of sports including rugby union with many players travelling into town from out west to train or play games.

Made even more special is the fact Central West Rugby Union have dominated the Country Championships in recent years even without some of the facilities other areas possess.

Saunders knows Sporting Hub will provide a brilliant service

While he was not in office when the sporting hub was announced, Mr Saunders is hoping people can remain patient until the construction is complete.

"It's slightly disappointing to hear that people believe they are not being kept up-to-date on things but to make one thing clear my office has very much an open-door policy," he said.

"If people want to know where things are up to they can always call or literally drop in and ask questions."

While there have been some concerns about the possibility of funding being re-allocated for the project, Mr Saunders said it isn't the case at all.

"The state government has committed $23.3 million to the project so far and that is still there, it will be allocated to the first part of the project which is the indoor facility," he said.

"It will include a PCYC to incorporate basketball and also netball if required as well as volleyball and soccer.

"The PCYC will be state of the art and will provide top quality gymnastics facilities which they are pretty well known for in Dubbo."

After over three-and-a-half years since the initial announcement, Mr Saunders shed some light on why the project has taken as long as it has.

"The project itself although it is probably behind schedule that was originally set there has been a lot of reasons why the project has been delayed," he said.

"A couple of them are COVID-19, there are also multiple groups involved including Charles Sturt University which has had management changes over the time frame.

"But the project is alive, well and on track."

While he's hopefully awaiting the construction of the sporting hub, Mr McDonald said there have been other avenues the club has explored to get something built in the region.

"The opportunity to get a regional base was really important to us," he said.

"So that's where we applied Office of Sport Centre of Excellence fund but missed out on that one so we are seeking feedback.

"Then we will submit round two."

While the Dubbo Sporting Hub is lagging, a neighbouring town is seeing construction begin on its own similar facility.

Orange is set to be home to a new multi-million dollar precinct at Bloomfield which could rival grounds such as Apex Oval, Mudgee's Glen Willow or Carrington Park in Bathurst.

The Daily Liberal contacted Minister for Sport and Tourism Stuart Ayres for an update on the Dubbo Sporting Hub but did not receive a reply prior to deadline.

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