COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONS

Bankstown Cricket Oval

In November 2020, Bankstown Sports announced the commitment of $1.5M in funding to contribute to Stage 1 of the Bankstown District Cricket Club’s community development master plan, which will focus on the upgrade of the Bankstown Memorial Oval Cricket Ground.

Working in collaboration with Canterbury Bankstown Council, the first phase of the project will be an upgrade of the Mark & Steve Waugh Pavilion, to improve the female amenities and disability access, and to update facilities for our younger community members.

Bankstown Sports CEO Mark Condi says the facilities at the oval are quite dated.

“The Mark and Steve Waugh pavilion was built by returned servicemen after World War II. The original building does not cater for female cricketers nor does it provide facilities for people who may have a disability, so we thought it was fitting that our contribution goes towards rebuilding this amazing building to cater for everyone”. Bankstown Sports and the Bankstown District Cricket Club have enjoyed a strong association spanning five decades, and are aligned in the vision to develop Bankstown into a destination for both elite athletes, and the broader community.

While subject to further funding, its hoped Stage 1 will be complete and operational in time for the 2022 cricket season, with further developments planned to transform the memorial oval to a world class facility.

Little Wings

In December 2020, Bankstown Sports committed to $500,000 in funding support to long-term charitable partner, Little Wings.

The club was also given the exclusive status of ‘Foundation Partner’ in 2021, having stood by the organisation since its inception.

Little Wings provides a professional, free, and safe flight and safe ground transport service for children from rural and regional New South Wales, allowing them to access specialized medical services and treatment in major centres. To date, Bankstown Sports has funded 101 missions, and also provides free rent for Little Wings HQ in Flinders Centre, Bankstown, as well as operational contributions of catering and tech support for various events.

The new funding commitment will pay for an additional 335 missions over the next five years.

In the summer of 2020, the NSW south coast was being devastated by the worst bushfires on record. There were 26 lives lost, thousands of homes destroyed and 5.5 million hectares of land destroyed. The impact on those NSW communities, farmers, local businesses, wildlife and bushland was unprecedented.

Bankstown Sports reached out to ClubsNSW to identify clubs in the region that had been affected by the disaster, so we could assist those in need.

As well as a direct funding donation, our brew team then developed the South Coast Pale Ale, and Executive Chef Helmut Gundendorfer developed a South Coast Burger, both of which we sold to raise more money.

The food and beverage teams also donated all of their tips as well, which tallied close to $30,000.

Altogether, Bankstown Sports contributed more than $180,000.

In February/March 2021, members of the Bankstown Sports Club executive team travelled to the Eurobodalla Shire, which had been heavily impacted by the bushfires, to assist Disaster Relief Australia with recovery efforts. They spent time on two properties mending fences and cleaning up debris, and chatting with the residents about how they would rebuild.

The team also visited Club Malua which was destroyed in the fires. CEO Mark Condi and representatives from the Batemans Bay Soldiers Club and Cabra Bowls Group presented a $524,859 cheque to the NSW Rural Fire Service, for the purchase of new equipment and training for personnel.