WATCH: Sam Farraway discusses a fresh timeline for construction of the Orange Sports Precinct.
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00:00 A question for Mr Farraway. You mentioned you met with Jason Hamling about the sports stadium.
00:05 Did he provide any update about a timeline where it might be fully operational?
00:08 We witnessed firsthand this morning that the civil contractors are decommissioning their temporary
00:16 offices and their temporary sites. This means that all the bulk civil earthworks are essentially
00:22 complete. We can start to see the outline of where the athletics infrastructure and the athletics
00:28 track will be. We're looking at hopefully throughout the next 12 months we will start to
00:35 see the athletics infrastructure really come to life. I think the build from Jason's advice this
00:41 morning, another 18 months before we're going to see the stadium complete, but again it is just so
00:48 good. After the work that has gone into that project, two councils, two mayors and a very
00:55 resilient community here to see this through, that is going to be a significant piece of legacy
01:00 infrastructure that will enhance the liveability and offering right here in the village.
01:05 And Mudgie and Dubbo have recently lost their NRL games for various reasons. Is there a worry
01:10 that the time it's taking to build this sports stadium might see the NRL lose interest in the
01:15 Central West? No I don't think so. You've seen the Penrith Panthers continue to lock in in Bathurst,
01:21 the longevity and sustainability of hosting some of their home games here in the Central West.
01:26 I have said since 2019 when I entered Parliament and started representing this part of the
01:31 community as an Upper House MP, that the future is to make sure that every town that has this
01:37 significant infrastructure creates their own pathway with that infrastructure, whether it's
01:44 football, soccer, whether it's rugby union possibly here in Orange. We can't all compete for the exact
01:51 same match and game and sporting code, but there are multiple sporting codes and what is really
01:57 important to identify in what we're building here in Orange is that there is a massive shortage of
02:04 athletics, tracks and infrastructure throughout Sydney. This infrastructure, I believe in time,
02:11 will get booked out most weekends and attract more families, more championships, more athletics,
02:17 carnivals here in Orange. And all those families, they need to stay somewhere, they need to eat out
02:23 somewhere, they need to be able to use the amenities here and I think that that will
02:27 continue to create Orange as a tourism hub and a sustainable tourism hub, but as well
02:33 as the destination that Orange has become. And you mentioned 18 months, hopefully before the
02:39 major rugby league field is built. Can we expect to see the NRL schedule in say 2026 feature an
02:46 Orange location? Who knows, who knows? I would love to see a bit of A-league out here as well.
02:52 Orange is also very well known for rugby union. I'd love to see a TARS game, a Brumbies game.
02:58 I'd love to see a women's game out here as well, but there is huge opportunity around soccer,
03:05 as they would say football, but there's huge opportunity for that here as well. And what
03:10 Bathurst, Orange, Dubbo and the Central West have done well over the last five years in particular
03:16 is carving out their own pathway, not competing against each other on the exact same sporting
03:22 code or the exact same sporting match. That's where it's going to be sustainable for this region
03:27 and this new facility is going to offer so much more opportunity for little athletics,
03:33 for local athletics, but also those carnivals and that injection of funding back into the
03:38 accommodation, into the tourism sector, in the local CBD and streets here. And you mentioned
03:44 soccer. You must have been disappointed to see the Wanderers pull out of their Bathurst clash
03:48 the other day? Yes, people in Bathurst are a little bit disappointed to see that. They're
03:52 obviously rescheduling where that venue will be. It'll obviously won't be in the Central West, but
03:57 I say to Council, I say to the sporting codes and organising bodies throughout the Central West,
04:02 don't give up. We need to keep attracting those gains to our regions. We know they work, we know
04:08 they activate our local economies and we know people love and enjoy the country hospitality
04:15 that is on offer right through the Central West, whether it's Bathurst, Orange, Dubbo, Mudgie,
04:20 it doesn't matter. We all have our own character, our own local communities and I think as a region
04:26 we are the powerhouse of the regional New South Wales economy. And have you been told if the
04:31 Liberty A. League game will be rescheduled for Bathurst this season? No, I'm not privy to that
04:37 information unfortunately.
04:39 [BLANK_AUDIO]