Growing towns call for bigger and better sporting and recreation facilities.

Just ask the residents of Bacchus Marsh.

With a fast-growing population expected to hit 50,000 residents by 2041, local sports clubs and the community are facing growing demand for facilities.

To help meet this need, the Victorian Government committed $3.5 million through the Community Sports Infrastructure Stimulus Program to help deliver Stage Two of the Active Sport Precinct at Bacchus Marsh Racecourse Recreation Reserve.

The project, delivered in partnership with Moorabool Shire Council, will provide a range of new sporting facilities for the town including an AFL and cricket oval with perimeter fencing, players benches, 100 lux LED lighting, two netball and two tennis hardcourts with lighting, and an all-abilities adventure playground.

Taking things to the next level for clubs

The recently completed first stage of the Bacchus Marsh Racecourse Recreation Reserve project was supported by $500,000 through the Victorian Government’s 2020-21 World Game Facilities Fund.

This first stage has created a new sports pavilion, a multipurpose oval, a cricket pitch overlayed on two soccer pitches, a BMX track, an equestrian cross-country course, as well as water and electrical works to support future installations.

With the Stage Two additional facilities just around the corner, Bacchus Marsh Cricket Club president David Kraljik is excited about how the precinct is shaping up.

“It’s great that this area has been clearly identified as a place that needed this sort of development and I’m really happy things are getting done,” he said.

Supporting the wellbeing of the community

It’s not just clubs and athletes who will benefit from all the development at Bacchus Marsh Racecourse Recreation Reserve.

The precinct will also support a wide range of recreation activities helping sustain the growing community’s physical and mental wellbeing.

“It is a huge advantage for the broader Moorabool Shire community in terms of having a safe and adequate place to socialise and be active,” Mr Kraljik said.

“We just want to see as many people out, active, healthy and socialising as much as possible and that’s what these facilities will enable,” he added.

Facilities constructed during stage one of the Active Sport Precinct at Bacchus Marsh Racecourse Recreation Reserve are now complete. Stage two works are due for completion in 2023.