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Business View Australia - March-April 2016 19
the huge tourist accommodation
availability (motels, hotels, caravan
parks and apartments) which sees
Dubbo the second highest provider of
such accommodation in all of regional
NSW. In recent years, however, the
facilities on offer to various sporting
administrators has been taken to a
new level through initiatives of Dubbo
City Council.
Mr McLeod said “We’re halfway
between Brisbane and Melbourne.
There’s a lot of accommodation here.
Thedifferent sports find they cancome
here and run carnivals for a week; it’s
easy for participants and spectators
to travel around, and for many sports
there are multiple fields located close
to one another. We’ve got good cricket
fields, swimming pools, football fields,
and now athletics fields as well.”
McLeod was quick to point out that
one of his fellow Council Directors,
Murray Wood, from the Parks and
Landcare Division of Council, has
responsibility for these facilities, and
he would not like to claim credit for
projects he was not involved in.
Barden Park inNorthDubbo has been
the home to Dubbo Athletics Club for
many years. It has always been the
main regional club in Northwest New
South Wales. In 2015 their facilities
were significantly upgraded by Council
to the tune of $6 million using a
mixture of grant funding and Council’s
own funds. The Barden Park Regional
Centre of Excellence for Athletics
now boasts an international standard
tartan running track, good enough for
world records to be recognised on,
and facilities for all recognised track
and field events on the world athletics
calendar. McLeod says the upgrades
have given the local Club the ability
to distinguish themselves in a very
positive way from other regional and
remote centres.
“The local athletics club, it’s always
beenmarvellous, but they arenowable
to have seriously important carnivals
here in Dubbo. It’s better for athletes
training for major competitions. And
Dubbo being a regional centre, a lot of
the small towns are also now sending
athletes down to events in Dubbo”.