Norman Griffiths Oval Update

September 26

Last night Ku-ring-gai Council voted 5–2 to proceed with the completion of Norman Griffiths Oval with a synthetic surface.

On behalf of WPFC, I want to thank Councillors Cedric Spencer, Martin Smith and Sam Ngai for bringing the matter back before Council, and Mayor Kim Wheatley and Councillor Matthew Devlin for supporting the motion.

It has been a very long road to get to this point. Mistakes have been made along the way, costs have increased significantly and there will be lessons that should be learned from how the project reached where it is today.

But we cannot change the past. What mattered last night was making the best decision from where we are now.

The independent review showed that the synthetic and best-practice natural turf options were effectively the same total project cost, but only one met the identified sporting capacity requirement. That gave Council a clear basis on which to make its decision.

For WPFC, this isn't a moment for triumphalism. More importantly, Norman Griffiths isn't finished yet. That is our focus.

What we do have today is something our players and families have been waiting a very long time for. We have a decision, a way forward and genuine hope that hundreds of children and adults will eventually be able to return to their home ground.

Our focus now shifts to delivery. We will work constructively with Council, get involved where the club can add value and keep our members and community updated as the programme, timelines and next steps become clearer.

There is still plenty of work ahead, but this was an important step.

Thank you to those who helped make it happen. Now let's keep moving forward.