Wollongong City Council has a new Sportgrounds and Sporting Facilities Strategy 2023-2027.
This document outlines 10 key focus areas that will guide the decisions and work of Council over the coming years.
Read: more in our article: 'Council crosses starting line on new sportsgrounds and sporting strategy.'
The focus areas allow is to continue to put attention on supporting female participation, increasing accessibility, expanding partnerships with community groups and establishing multi-use facilities.
However, the decision of what to focus on comes from a variety of sources and research as well as community feedback on the Strategy when it was a draft document.
Here is a snapshot of a few of the interesting numbers captured in this document. If you'd like to know more, the Strategy is available on Council's website.
Council spends an average of $4.5M each year on sportsground maintenance.
Image: Lindsay Park sportgrounds includes a Velodrome and Criterium track.
Council currently has 67 sports venues including 4 athletics tracks, 11 AFL fields, 16 basketball courts, 48 cricket wicks, 85 football (soccer) fields, 77 netball courts, 5 skateparks and 90 tennis courts.
Image: Basketball courts near King George V Oval, Port Kembla.
In 2020-2021 88.8 per cent of adult Australians participated in sport or physical activity at least once a week, with 21 per cent if people doing so through a sports club or association.
Image: Beaton Park Leisure Centre.
In Wollongong, 25,995 people participate in sport through a club or association in 2020-2021.
Image: Fred Finch Netball Courts were refurbished earlier this year (2023).
The top five sports clubs for participation in NSW are Australian Football League (AFL), basketball, cricket, football (soccer) and rugby league.
Image: Sheffield Shield playing at Thomas Dalton Park.
Football (soccer) is the most popular sport in Wollongong with 9,381 participants.
Image: King George V Oval, Port Kembla.
Rugby League is the second most popular sport with 3,719 participants and then netball with 1,889 participants.
Image: Local rugby teams play at many of Council's sportsgrounds across the city.
Hockey, touch football, athletics and volleyball are all relatively balanced between female and male participants.
Image: North Gong Beach is a favourite spot for a casual game of volleyball.
In recent years, recreational habits have changed with more people enjoying unstructured and emerging sports and leisure pursuits such as running, walking or gym exercise.
Image: Scootering and skating is growing in popularity at Holborn Skate Park.
