The CEO of the company chosen by the Eurobodalla Shire Council to manage the new Bay Pavilions on the Princes Highway has spoken of the "really good opportunity" the new facility provides both the company and the community.
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Aligned Leisure, a subsidiary of the Richmond Football Club, was yesterday announced as the managers of Bay Pavilions after a tender process from council saw four companies make bids.
Chief Executive Shane Dunne said the Batemans Bay facility would increase Aligned Leisure's outreach in the community.
"We've had this on our radar for a good 18 months or so," he said.
"We identified there was a new facility coming and thought it was a really good opportunity to look at what we could bring to the community.
"We have facilities in Albury/Wodonga and Mildura, so we believe we do those regional sites really well.
"This facility is a wonderful investment."
Mr Dunne said Aligned could use its experience in the professional football sphere in Bay Pavilions.
"A lot of the skillsets used in footy like developing people, managing athletes, putting on events, and running memberships are all transferable to these types of facilities, so it made sense to us," he said.
"It all culminated in responding to the council's tender process and pitching what we can bring to the community.
"Council liked what we proposed, and we signed the contract this week."
Richmond Football Club currently has South Coast junior Samson Ryan on the playing list, but Mr Dunne said footy was "not the primary reason" they bid on Bay Pavilions.
"If we suddenly found a gun 16-year-old we can put on the club's radar, great, but it's far more about connecting with the community," he said.
"Our members demand a strong club conscience and social responsibility, so this is a good extension to work on community health and wellbeing.
"The Richmond community is dotted all over Australia, and if we were only focused on our supporters, we'd have far less people coming through the door.
"We want to build a local workforce of local people and upskill them - that's our next step, to get connected and find people who can run and operate Bay Pavilions when we open next year."
Council's director of planning Lindsay Usher said construction of the facility continued apace, and despite the pandemic presenting delays, was on track to open to the public in the first half of 2022.
"Lockdowns in NSW and ACT have hampered access to trades and materials on top of world-wide shipping delays," he said.
"Our builders have worked around these hold-ups and earlier wet weather, meaning we're just six weeks or so behind our original finish date.
"We've recently seen the massive glulam beams installed over the aquatic complex and now the theatre is being built. It's the taller part of the complex and once it's up you'll see a stronger impression of the overall structure.
"The next milestone for Bay Pavilions watchers will be the waterslides' installation, and keep an eye out for the raffle offering lucky locals an early sneak peak of the centre prior to opening.
"Once ADCO completes construction, there's a hand-over to Aligned Leisure for six weeks of fit-out and staff training before the premises can open to the public."
Joel Erickson
Twice weekly
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