The long-awaited first drop of water to fill the new pools at Wulanda Recreation and Convention Centre is expected this week in readiness for the “soft” opening of the facility in December.
All areas, except the entertainment hall, will be open and ready for use by the public.
The entertainment hall which comprises three of six courts will remain closed until February 2023.
Construction of the area will continue to take place, however the main three courts in the stadium will open on December 16.
Once complete the stadium and hall will be open to the community for casual hoops shooting access, court hire and provide opportunities to host events, conventions, concerts and sporting competitions.
Mount Gambier City Council City Infrastructure general manager Barbara Cernovskis said flooring and seating still needed to be installed.
“We have got the floor in the western bank that still needs to be installed and we have the retractable seating progressively going in next year,” Ms Cernovskis said.
“We’ll have the 1000 bank seating in the western courts installed by the end of September next year, but for everything else what we’re looking at are the finishes.
“We’re doing everything we can by the opening date. We’re right on track at the moment for opening.”
The first major event to be held at the centre will be the official opening which has been earmarked to take place on February 1.
Ms Cernovskis said there had been a strong focus on inclusivity.
From infants through to youth and the elderly have been considered and catered for, as well as those with disability and cultural needs.
A creche with parent room with features suited to the care of infants and young children.
A separate section of the centre features a youth hangout area which will be equipped with large screen plasmas and couches where teens and young adults can play video games and socialise. A key aspect of the design was to be multi-purpose.
The youth hangout area doubles as a green room for festivals and concerts. Other multi-purpose features include the changerooms which can be doubled in size by opening a roller door partition.
In honour the cultural significance of the name Wulanda, council commissioned local First Nations artist Belinda Bonney to create artwork to be incorporated within the centre’s brand identity.
The indigenous connection is visually represented at the entrance to the fitness studio and which Ms Cernovskis said will compliment signage around the complex.
Despite the challenges experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms Cernovskis said “to get to where we are during a really difficult time is amazing”.
“This has been a really interesting time to have gone through and built such a complex piece of community infrastructure during COVID,” she said.
