Feasibility study to look at possibility of athletics facility at CSU Bathurst

Currently, Little Athletics is based at Morse Park after having to move from Bathurst Sportsground to allow for renovations to be carried out.

Both sites are unsuitable and, in mid 2022, hundreds of people signed a petition calling for a purpose-built athletics facility that could be used by not just Little Athletics, but school groups as well.

Now, the university is looking at the possibility of making that a reality.

CSU and Bathurst Regional Council are each chipping in $50,000 to commission a feasibility study for an athletics facility on the Bathurst campus.

CSU Bathurst's director of external engagement, Julia Andrews, said this is being done in response to community interest in the concept.

"There were a number of groups and they came to us and just said, 'This is something we feel we need in this region', and we agreed with council to just look at whether it was feasible," she said.

However, she stressed that there is no allocation in CSU's budget to develop an athletics facility.

"It's not in any strategic planning for the university as such, but as the anchor institution in this region, we are happy to explore potential opportunities," she said.

The feasibility study will look at space on the Bathurst campus in between the gymnasium and the printery as a potential location for an athletics facility.

However, Ms Andrews said it is possible other locations within the campus footprint could be considered in the study as well.

The day-to-day operations of any future facility have yet to be determined and would be part of the feasibility study.

"It would be for community use and the university, but that has to be examined in a feasibility study," Ms Andrews said.

"What would the best way be for it to be used, is it feasible, and what is the business model? That would have to be looked at by the feasibility study."

CSU and council have put out a tender to find a suitable company to conduct the feasibility study.

Ms Andrews said it is hoped that the study will be finished within six months, at which point CSU will meet with stakeholders to review it.

At this stage, there is no timeframe for the delivery of the facility, should it be deemed feasible.

However, Ms Andrews did suggest that it could be before the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

"If it was feasible, it would obviously be beneficial to have that in place so that it could be useful in the lead up to the Brisbane Olympic Games," she said.

"... There's no deadline at the moment, it's very early feasibility study days."

Bathurst councillor Andrew Smith is among those hoping that this feasibility study could be the start of a solution for the city's athletics community.

He said athletics is a very important part of sport in Bathurst and also part of the school curriculum for students across the city.

As a parent with two young daughters involved in Little Athletics, Cr Smith is passionate about getting kids involved in sport and knows there is a need for a purpose-built athletics facility in Bathurst.

"If you look at Bathurst, we're known for sport. We've got motor sport, we've got rugby league, you've got cricket, and all at model venues, so there's definitely a gap there that's been identified and noted by council staff, it's just a matter of seeing what comes out of the feasibility study at CSU," he said.

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