Future is brighter at peninsula club

The future is already looking brighter at Redcliffe Leagues Hockey Club which has major plans to improve and expand its facilities in coming years.

A $160,000 upgrade of floodlights was completed last week at the Oxley Ave grounds following a lightning strike in February.

The new 400 lumen LED lights – which replaced 250 lumen lights - have one third of the running costs, three times the lifespan and will save club about $12,000 a year.

Planning ahead

Club president Cameron Howes said the costs were met by the club’s sinking fund and insurance from the lightning strike. The new lights meet Australian standards for night matches.

There are also plans to improve the waiting area for teams at the Mary Nairn Fields using in part a donation from a life member.

Lang Agar, a former player and supporter of the club, left $10,000 to Redcliffe Leagues Hockey Club when he passed away in 2019.

Donation

“Lang was a wonderful, very loyal supporter who was associated with the club for 60 years,” said Mr Howes, “it was a most generous donation.”

Mr Howes said the club would apply for a $20,000 grant and plans to use with the donation to improve the seating area and gathering point for teams.

Concept plans have also been drawn up to extend the clubhouse and build more changing rooms and toilets in coming years.

“That’s a long-term project but we have to plan well ahead,” said Mr Howes, who added that field upgrades would also be needed on about six years.

Club day

On the field Redcliffe’s Men opened their Brisbane Hockey League (BHL) Division One season with a 6-3 defeat by Valleys on Saturday.

The clubs Brisbane Women’s Hockey Association (BWHA) Premier League 2 side also went down 1-0 to South Brisbane Eagles.

The Redcliffe Leagues Club Day is on May 15, the only day this year when the top three men’s and women’s teams will be in action at the same ground on the same day.

There are plans to invite past players to the grounds for the day.

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