The grant was accepted through the Country Football and Netball Program from Sports and Recreation Victoria. 

Horsham Rural City Council will help with an additional $17,000 while the Horsham City Netball Association and Central Park Tennis Club will add $36,000 to the project. 

This is the third time the two groups have attempted to gain the grant. 

Central Park president Brendan Nitschke said the council had been working hard in assisting the club and association to attain the grant for its fourth bay of courts. 

“The courts should be ready early next year,” he said. 

Nitschke said the courts were shared and could be used for tennis or netball. 

The reconstruction will allow the netball courts to be compliant with Netball Victoria’s regulations. 

Nitschke said only two netball courts would remain after the works in order to comply with regulations which include space for an appropriate run-off. 

“They are compliant for tennis (but not for netball yet),” he said. 

“The surface will all be changed to plexipave. It is a nice surface to play on.” 

Central Park life member Brian Breuer said it had been 25 years since the courts were upgraded. 

“The clubs have been patient in getting the grants. The association and tennis club have always been working together,” he said.

Horsham City association treasurer Grenville Short said the upgrade was important. 

“We need these courts every week otherwise we double up and have to play two lots of games on Saturday morning,” Mr Short said. 

“A lot of people can’t afford to stay down at the courts from 8.30am until 11am. People have boys playing football.”

The association had 150 participants during its 2017 season. 

Horsham Rural City Council’s recreation and sustainability manager Rhonda McNeil said the council had scoped out exactly what it needed to do. 

“The aim of this project is to upgrade the current non-compliant netball courts at Central Park netball facility and provide two compliant netball courts with improved drainage and upgraded court surface,” she said. 

“Jessica Leslie is the project manager for this project and is working with representatives of netball and tennis on a project control group.”