By VICTORIA STONE-MEADOWS
FEDERAL Member for La Trobe Jason Wood recently visited Emerald Primary School to inspect the new basketball centre funded by the Federal Government.
The new court will be used by the school and the community, with it set to be the new home base for the Emerald Lakers Basketball Club.
“I’m so proud to see this funding commitment of $1.5 million for the construction of a basketball centre at Emerald Primary School come to fruition,” Mr Wood said.
The project was possible through funding from both state and federal funding grants that were awarded to the school to support active participation in sports.
“The school should be congratulated for the use of the money,” Mr Wood said.
“This was a project very focused on community need and is about making sure kids have lots of activities.”
This new centre will replace the old centre which is set to be demolished and the basketball club will be able to train in their own purpose-built centre.
“I’m so glad this facility is up and running,” Mr Wood said.
“Because not only is it a place to keep fit, healthy, and have fun, but it’s also a central point for the Emerald community to get together too.”
A primary issue Mr Wood wanted to address with this new facility was the lack of public transport in the hills that forced people have to travel outside the area for recreational facilities.
“It’s about making the area a better place to live,” he said.
“I want to make sure suburban kids are growing up in good communities and can go to nice schools in the area.”
The new basketball centre started construction in May this year and is expected to be complete by this coming November.
