Council News WAGGA WAGGA CITY COUNCIL
FIRST PRINTED SATURDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2014
Issue 21
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LEAGUE GREATS: Former Riverina locals Laurie Daley, NSW Head Coach and Trent Barrett, Country Coach inspect McDonald’s Park at the launch of the City v Country match.
Stage set for rugby league blockbuster Excitement is building ahead of next year’s City v Country match in Wagga Wagga with Riverina football greats Trent Barrett and Laurie Daley helping to officially launch the event at McDonald’s Park. The launch took place amid significant work to upgrade the venue to include coaches and broadcasting boxes, which is the result of a partnership between Wagga Rugby League, Wagga Wagga City Council, NRL and the NSW Government. “This ground has come a long way in the past six years to be developed from farmland to the elite rugby league facility that we are standing on today,” Wagga Wagga Council’s Deputy Mayor Dallas Tout said. Wagga Wagga Rugby League has also managed this project and invested significant in-kind support into the project. “Securing the 2015 AAMI Country v City Origin game is recognition of the hard work and investment by the rugby league community and Wagga Wagga City Council over several years,” Councillor Tout continued.
“Without the volunteers and community these sorts of projects wouldn’t exist. It shows how important volunteerism and community ownership of assets is to getting things done in rural and regional communities. “Council looks forward to working with the NRL, CRL and the local rugby league community to further develop the venue and continue to bring elite level Rugby League to the City.” The ongoing venue upgrade has seen the grandstand roof at McDonald’s Park raised significantly to accommodate media, video referee and coaching facilities needed to host elite rugby league matches. An expansion of the grandstand’s undercover seating, along with the extension of the both ‘hills’ earlier this year, will help bring the crowd capacity of the venue up to 10,000. Tickets go on sale early next year for the City v Country match and organisers are confident they will be snapped up quickly. “It means a lot for everyone in the country to have games like this in regional towns, people will travel far and wide because they’re used to doing that.” former Junee football great and NSW Head Coach Laurie Daley said. “The community will support it and who knows; maybe one the kids in the crowd will end up playing in the NRL, representing NSW in the State of Origin or even playing for Australia one day.”
MAIN STAGE: Wagga Wagga City Council’s Deputy Mayor Dallas Tout (centre) with Laurie Daley (left) and Trent Barrett (right). Despite still being six months away it seems the region is already making plans. “Everyone is pretty excited about it,” Country Coach Trent Barrett said. “I was at a wedding in my home town (Temora) on the weekend and everyone was talking about it. “I remember travelling to Wagga when I was a kid to watch a test match here and that experience has
stuck with me. “Hopefully we can create those same memories for local kids today, and give them something to aspire to.” The 2015 City v Country match will be held at McDonald’s Park, Exhibition Centre on Sunday 3 May.