CHAIRMAN of the Inverell Showground Trust David Adams considered a new wooden floor for the whole basketball stadium was long overdue. On Thursday afternoon, the Member for Northern Tablelands, Adam Marshall, announced funding for the project worth more than $157,000, the highest single grant he had ever seen from the NSW Public Reserves Management Fund.
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“The whole electorate was allocated $489,000 in this round of funding and we got $157,000 of it just for this,” Mr Marshall said.
Mr Adams said funding for the work arrived just in time, as the surface was not far off being unplayable.
He walked along sections of the floor to demonstrate how they bounced and pointed out cracks in the timbers as he went.
“Building’s not my forte, but I do know it was a horror of a thing to quote on,” Mr Adams said.
“They just weren’t sure what bearers or what joists they could reuse, or if they have to redo the lot.”
“A few of the piers underneath have shifted. They put a laser level over it and it’s amazing how much it has dropped in places.”
The winning tender for the work has yet to be announced.
Mr Adams said the stadium was a multi-purpose building. It was used as a pavilion by the Inverell Show Society, the bird-keeping club held sales in it and antiques sales were held there.
Mr Marshall said it was the second year in a row that the Inverell Showground had received funding.
“Last year we were here on the other side of the showground announcing $80,000,” Mr Marshall said.
“So that’s in excess of $230,000 this showground has received in the last two years, which is absolutely terrific.”
