The Maningrida community can be proud of the recently redeveloped football oval which was informally opened at the New Year’s Eve fireworks display on 31 December 2022.
The oval redevelopment has included significant works including resurfacing and realignment, new goal posts, upgraded irrigation, new fence and newly-installed light towers with lowerable light mast head. These upgrades to the oval have been a long time coming and were strongly supported by the Maningrida Local Authority, Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program (LRCI) and Northern Territory Government Department of Tourism and Culture. With the project now complete, the community has access to a great space for not only to kick off the 2023 football season, but community events and gatherings. The new light poles also allows for night games, training and events, and will deliver long term savings due to the design.
The Maningrida football oval redevelopment commenced in 2020 following the release of the tender which was awarded to DEC Installations NT Pty Ltd. Throughout the redevelopment, the project team were able to deliver the project milestones despite a number of underlying issues, caused by the existing oval being in an extremely tricky plot of land and its orientation and sizing not meeting the AFL international standards. Wet weather also affected not only the work on the ground but also the original footing design. The effect of an above average wet season and rising water table resulted in a complete redesign of footings for light poles.
This required an additional 270t of concrete being placed into the footings with 32mm reinforcement and 850t of cement stabilised sand weighing them down.
WARC required additional funding to complete works and were successful through the LRCI Phase 2 funding stream which resulted in delays and setbacks to project timeframes. Despite this, WARC, DEC and engineers worked together over the last two years to complete the oval earth works, pumping station, irrigation, fencing and grass. The last major milestone in the final weeks prior to handover was the installation of the oval light-towers which have their own lowering system - a huge benefit in both cost and time for routine maintenance or repairs. Jai Prolongeau of DEC Installations said in the weeks prior to handover in December 2023, DEC worked around the clock to exceed expectations and they wanted to thank all involved.
“Over the life of this project, DEC was able to engage many local suppliers, contractors and employers. Just DEC alone provided over 10,000 hours of employment to Indigenous staff members, plus many more provided through local contractors,” Jai said.
“We would like to thanks Stedman’s Construction and BAC for all of their local support throughout the project, as well as Dhukurrdji Lodge for taking such great care of our team. We would also like to thank the whole team at WARC, it has been a pleasure working with you and we look forward to working together again in future.”
