Text: Victorian Connection / Mars Stadium Facility Upgrades stage 2
Vision: View of the entrance to Mars Stadium Ballarat Gate 1 and seating in the stand. View of the football oval. Aerial view of the stadium and parking.
Daniel Moloney - Mayor, City of Ballarat
'The transformation we’ve seen at this stadium has just been huge.'
'I remember it being a suburban footy ground and indeed the Stage 1 development of the big stand was fantastic.'
Vision: Close-up view of seating in the stand and entrance to the stadium showing building, stairs and new terracing on the eastern hill. View from the stand looking over the football field.
Text: Accessible seating.
'Now the addition of approved seatings and undercover areas and also the improved entrances have just completely transformed the whole game day experience.'
Text: Upgraded gate entries, new terracing on the eastern hill.
Scott Seward - CEO, North Ballarat Football Club
Vision: View of the new food and beverage outlets and the football oval. View of swimmers and athletes in the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Text: New food and beverage outlets.
'I think the benefit we’re seeing is the increase in major events, you know, the more major events that we can bring to Ballarat and the more community events that come onto Mars Stadium, Carols by Candlelight being here last year’s really important, and then obviously with the Commonwealth Games in the next few years, you know, it’s a real benefit for the whole community.'
Vision: Close-up view of football.
'We’ll see more of the benefit for us in the future in what will come with the introduction of senior women’s football, they could have a senior women’s team, so it’s certainly now that we’ve got junior female football it now provides that pathway for us and the appropriate facilities that we can actually put in place and put those teams in place for us for the future.'
Vision: View of the Mars Stadium and parking.
Daniel Moloney - Mayor, City of Ballarat
'The importance of having a venue like this can have a broader transformation across the regional economy, and that spending of visitors just continues to multiply as we keep investing.'
Vision: View of the female football team playing football on the football field.
'The Ballarat community has really gotten behind this, so locals can experience some really great first-class sport, but the other incredible thing too is that locals can also use the grounds.'
Vision: View of male footballers on field. View of the change rooms and showers. View of the football oval and stand. View of female footballers playing on field and practicing in the clubhouse.
'So when it’s not being used by some of Australia’s best athletes, it’s also being used by locals as well too, and I think it’s pretty important for both boys and girls as they’re growing up to be on these sort of grounds and play in the sort of area where their stars are playing.'
Vision: Aerial view of the stadium and surrounding area.
'It’s going to be incredible to think that this area is going to be a host to the 2026 Commonwealth Games athletics, it’s just mindboggling how much things have transformed from these partnerships we’ve had with the State Government.'
The Victorian Connection, people, communities and the economy. For more news and stories go to connection.vic.gov.au
Victoria State Government. Authorised by the Victorian Government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne
For the full article please refer back to Mars Stadium Facility Upgrade Stage 2
