“MONEY for nothing”, “financial mismanagement”, and “what happens” when there are rate freezes; this is how some sports clubs and players have described Council’s resurrected plans to charge ground fees.
The pay-to-play model is back on the table – just a year after community backlash saw it scrapped.
In a statement released this week, Port Macquarie-Hastings Council moved to ease concerns.
It said it was reviewing field fees to ensure “equitable access, address challenges related to competing space usage and provide long-term sustainability for all user groups”.
Staff have been meeting club officeholders since January to discuss various fee models.
These models are still in their early stages of development and were intended solely to inform and gather feedback.
More engagement sessions and an extraordinary meeting of the PMHC Sports Council were held this week.
“In my opinion it is wrong; they are disadvantaging the community clubs that keep the youths of today active,” Camden Haven Redbacks President Riley Papas told News Of The Area.
“We have 400 registered participants, that’s a lot of boys and girls playing our game at Vince Inmon [Sporting Complex] in Laurieton.
“From our perspective, we don’t want players to wear these costs because they pay so much already.”
The club already foots the bill for lights, insurance and Federation fees, while parents across all local sports are digging deep to pay for uniforms, membership fees, and weekly and representative travel.
If clubs are charged thousands of dollars a season for field preparation and usage, as per one option, the cost will be passed on to these families.
President of the Camden Haven Netball Club Jo Dempsey said the amount Council is asking is “ridiculous”.
“Our netball club provides a sporting service to the Camden Haven community.
“This season, we are guiding approximately 100 players of all ages and abilities.
“We use the two hard courts [at Laurieton] solely for training purposes.
“Our teams train twice a week for no more than three hours per session, for approximately six months of the year.
“Our club is run entirely on volunteers, as are the majority of sporting codes in the area.
“To have this fee imposed on us means more fundraising and sponsorship [when] we already ask so much from our community.”
The Council statement said staff are exploring several support mechanisms for clubs and user groups, including proportional fee structures based on facility usage, flexible payment options, and reinvesting all field fee revenue into field maintenance.
An extraordinary meeting of the Sport Council on Tuesday night saw club feedback shared with Council staff.
Committee Chair Cr Nik Lipovac said, “staff will include the feedback in a report likely to come to Council next month. “No decisions have been made at this point [and] details will be put on Public Exhibition for further comment.”
For Riley and Jo, the prospect of their clubs being asked to pay Council for what is traditionally covered by rates, has shone a light on the state of the fields and amenities.
There are no designated storage facilities at the netball courts and players are currently using a shower stall in the Redbacks Clubhouse.
“Given this limited use, our club believes that imposing fees is both unreasonable and unfair,” Jo said.
“Not just to us, but to all the sporting clubs in the Hastings Council area.”
Riley said Council staff had compared the proposed fees to those charged in regions like Tamworth.
“But if you look at their facilities, we’re not at the same level as their set-ups.
“There have been recent drainage works at Vince Inmon, but our sheds, changerooms and canteen are in need of repair.
“They (Council) mow the ground and mark the lines and that’s it.”
There is also the frustration of potential double-dipping.
“If I book a field and another club books a field, they are not going to mow it twice.
“Despite these information sessions and all of our opinions, my gut feeling is that, come the summer of 2025, these payments are going to be implemented.”
By Sue STEPHENSON
