Sport
22 November, 2024
Wattles under bright new lights in 2025
Wattles players should be playing under new LED lights on Platz Oval next season thanks to a massive project underway which has sourced funding from many sources.
The bold project has been spearheaded by Wattles Rugby League Football Club under President Amanda O’Halloran, with strong support from Wattles Junior Rugby League Football Club, led by President Aaron Gilmore.
The new lights will cover both fields.
The existing aging lighting infrastructure has been a concern for some time for Wattles, with the lighting poles estimated to be around 40 years old and the lights themselves well past their use-by date as well.
A meeting was held last Wednesday to discuss what impact the construction of the lighting will have on the other users of the Clifton Recreation Grounds, including Clifton Jockey Club and the Clifton Show Society.
The meeting was also attended by Toowoomba Regional Council staff, which is contributing $81,000 to the project, and Queensland Sport and Recreation which is contributing $250,000, both through grants.
The Queensland Government provided its funding to Wattles to enable Queenslanders to participate in sport and recreation activities.
Ms O’Halloran said Wattles and Wattles Juniors will need to funding the remaining $90,000 of the project.
Wattles has generously received a $5,000 grant from the Clifton Community Op Shop, private donations from club supporters and are running a raffle to raise more funds.
The project is being undertaken by sports field lighting specialists T2 Electrical, which were represented at the meeting by Operations Manager Nathan Gundry and Project Manager Klinton Goodridge.
The project will see the new lighting poles installed 5.5 metres from the sidelines, with a brightness of 180 lux.
Ms O’Halloran said the existing lights were measured at being under 100 lux in August last year and were worse in some patches.
Mr Gundry said the main goal of the project is to not disrupt other events at the Recreation Grounds.
He said the light fixtures should arrive in January, and in a worst case scenario it will take 15 weeks for the poles to arrive.
T2 Electrical will work around the schedule of the Clifton Show, which is taking place from the 14th to the 16th of February.
All the work should be completed by the end of March.
Ms O’Halloran said if necessary Wattles can liaise with Toowoomba Rugby League to have trial matches and early fixtures played away.
The new lights will be secure, using industry-standard aluminium cabling (rather than copper, targeted by thieves) and remote-access switches for the lights to avoid unauthorised use.
Mr Gundry said there will only be one day without power for the grounds, which can be planned to only affect any campers who might be staying.
He said there will be ongoing communication between T2 Electrical and all the stakeholders of the grounds.
The old lights will be removed at the same time the new lights are installed.
The lights are not the only upgrade planned for the wider Clifton Recreation Ground facility, with Council planning to re-seal bitumen after the completion of the lights installation.
