Ballarat Clubs Use New Facilities to Strengthen Community Connections

The completion of a $750,000 multiplayer change facility upgrade at Russell Square now supplies AFL-compliant female-friendly change rooms shared by AFL, netball and umpires, with funding from Sport Australia and the City of Ballarat.

Why the timing matters for clubs

These works sit alongside internal grandstand changeroom upgrades at the historic City Oval finished in mid-2026 after starting in late 2025, with the City of Ballarat contributing $1.7 million and the AFL adding a $100,000 grant. Ballarat's total number of Regional Sports Infrastructure Program projects has reached five, covering Mars Stadium, the Ballarat Regional Athletics Centre and Selkirk Stadium.

Venues that support daily club operations

Clubs at Russell Square and City Oval can now schedule mixed-gender training and match days without separate venue bookings. The same pattern appears at Wendouree West Recreation Reserve, where new youth facilities include a street soccer zone, skate and BMX areas and the ReCranked Youth Shed that serve more than 1,200 local soccer participants. Ballarat High School's Specialist Sport Program, running since 1997, gives elite athletes in netball, football, basketball and soccer access to these improved sites and to the Victorian Institute of Sport. Ballarat Little Athletics continues to run Saturday sessions for children aged 5 to 15 at Llanberris Reserve and other grounds managed by Athletics Ballarat.

Evidence from completed projects

Five separate Regional Sports Infrastructure Program projects are now recorded in Ballarat, while a $6.6 million current development at Mars Stadium adds new entrances and female-friendly changing rooms. The City of Ballarat has endorsed the Draft Recreation Infrastructure Plan 2024-2039 to meet expected demand from more than 50,000 additional residents by 2041 across AFL, basketball, cricket and soccer fields.

Clubs can therefore extend training hours and include more age groups and abilities without waiting for new builds. The facilities remain open for regular community use at the same venues already listed in the Regional Sports Infrastructure Program records.