Central Coast Council has awarded the contract for the construction of stage one of the Tuggerah Regional Sport and Recreation Complex.

The grand $23.71 million sporting complex will include a premier ground with another 9 playing fields, cricket pitches, public amenities including change rooms, canteen facilitates, store rooms and parking at Lakes Road, Tuggerah.

Council’s Administrator, Mr Ian Reynolds, said the awarding of this contact is a step towards positioning the Central Coast as a destination of choice for major sporting events.

“We have previously had to turn away some state competitions due to a lack of appropriate facilities, but not anymore,” Mr Reynolds said.

“The economic benefits that will flow to our community from hosting large sporting events is huge in dollar value, creating local jobs and boosting tourism.”

Work on stage one is anticipated to take 12 to 18 months to complete and will create up to 70 new full time employment opportunities during construction.

“A further 28 new full time jobs will be created in the region after five years of operation of this complex, boosting much needed employment opportunities on the Coast,” Mr Reynolds added.

“This is a really exciting time as Council brings much needed infrastructure and facilities to the Central Coast to improve our community’s quality of life and delivering projects the community need, want and value.”

This project was made possible with the support of the Australian Government’s $10 million National Stronger Regions Fund and Council’s $13.71 million.

Council recognises the importance of this funding and is looking forward to collaborating with the Australian Government to deliver future projects for the Central Coast community.

The final stage of this project will see construction of an indoor sporting centre incorporating six basketball courts, amenities, sporting officers, a kiosk and a 3000 seat grandstand to bring the total value of the complex to $53 million.

The tender was awarded to Norths Construction who also built The Art House in Wyong for which they won a 2016 Master Builders Association Award.