One of the most popular places at a footy match would have to be the canteen, where you can buy a meat pie and bottle of Coke before settling in to watch a terrific game of footy.
For years the canteen facility at Doug Rennie fields in Kingswood has had its fair share of dramas.
There were times when the power would cut out midway through a busy period, making the facility unsafe for workers and patrons, and leaving plenty of hungry customers without food.
Fortunately, thanks to the NSW State Government, Penrith City Council, NRL and Penrith and District Junior Rugby League those problems will soon be a thing of the past. Through the Community Building Partnerships Program, the NSW State Government is injecting $33,000 to help get the Doug Rennie canteen block back up to standard.
“One of the things that the Program is all about is making sure that we support local communities, and our local sporting teams and clubs,” State Member for Penrith, Stuart Ayres said.
“The Penrith Waratahs Rugby League Club have been slugging it out in a pretty tiny and old school facility for some time, which probably doesn’t meet a lot of food standards we set in place these days.”
Secretary at the Penrith Waratahs, Bill Buckley, said over the past decade they have used the Kingswood-based fields a lot of work has taken place to improve a number of aspects but fixing the canteen was high on their priority list.
“The canteen has become a serious thing because it just didn’t meet health regulations,” he said.
“Junior football is all about the kids, it’s not about the club. Without people like Yvonne Purtell, Stuart Ayres and the Council none of this would’ve happened.”
Penrith and District Junior Rugby League manager, Yvonne Purtell, said she hopes to work with more local clubs to put in grants for upgrades in the future, given many grounds have been around for a long time.
