THE NORTH Queensland Cowboys have secured half the funding needed to build a world-class high-performance facility, with the Federal Government to commit $15 million in the Budget. The multipurpose inner-city Cowboys HQ has been spruiked as the saving grace for the North Queensland NRL team and a way to ensure the club remains a force for the next 50 years. Plans for the proposed $50 million Community, Training and High Performance Centre were unveiled in the Bulletinearlier this month.
It will be built next to the new North Queensland Stadium and will incorporate a full-sized training field, community areas, multi-sport high-performance training spaces, sports medicine and sports science laboratories, as well as Stadium and administration offices.
Once built, the facilities could attract touring sports teams and other elite athletes looking for state-of-the art sport science and training facilities.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison will today announce $15 million in funding has been earmarked for the project in the Federal Budget.
Cowboys chairman Laurence Lancini has previously said the club could afford $15 million toward the facility but would need the rest to come from government funding.
The Cowboys have unveiled designs for a world-class high performance facility that will ensure the North Queensland club remains a force in the NRL for the next 50 years. Artists Impression Cox Architecture.
“We applaud this investment as a huge boost for the revitalisation of our city centre and region,” he said.
“This will be a multipurpose community facility and its development will be a confidence booster for our recovering economy.”
LNP candidate for Herbert Phil Thompson said the state-of-the-art centre would be an asset to the whole community.
“The detailed proposal was brought to me by the Cowboys, I read through it, it was great because it wasn’t just about football, it was about bringing healthcare in, bringing the (Townsville) Fire in,” he said. “I spoke to the Prime Minister’s office about it and the relevant ministers, and it just ticked all the boxes.”
Team captain Michael Morgan said there was an opportunity to develop young players coming through and hold on to the talent across North Queensland.
Cowboys coach Paul Green said the project was integral to stop leaking rugby league talent down south and called on other levels of government to chip in.
“It is very difficult to compete on a recruitment basis if you’ve got the best talent coming through and other clubs want to buy them and they have a state-of-the-art training facility,” Mr Green said.
Cowboys chief executive Jeff Reibel said the club was able to stay at 1300SMILES Stadium until at least the 2020 season.
“However, it’s very important that we have a short-term transition plan to unite our administration, training and commercial operations with our playing base, for efficiency and continuity, and because we are certain it will be the best setup for a winning NRL team,” he said.
