Work is underway on a $1.1 million stimulus upgrade at Moree Race Club after Crown Lands awarded a tender for repair of the club’s main grandstand.
Tamworth-based company Shay Brennan Constructions has been contracted to help deliver the project which is also being supported by the NSW Government’s Public Works Advisory.
The major upgrade will restore the steel and concrete grandstand to full use after concrete cancer weakened its structure and forced its capacity to be limited due to safety concerns.
Upgrades to the grandstand will include paving, balustrades, steel columns, sewer lines, and seating sections, as well as replacement of adjacent retaining walls and installation of disabled ground floor access.
Funding will also support installation of a new toilet block for the race club.
Racing is a major social event and also a regional tourism drawcard for the town with the first Moree Cup held 140 years ago in 1881, and about half a dozen races hosted by Moree Race Club in an average year.
The investment will ensure the grandstand is once again fit-for-purpose to the latest National Construction Code standards, providing residents and visitors to Moree Race Club with a first-class view of its track and racing action.
Deputy Premier Paul Toole said a day at the Moree races will come with on-course comfort.
“These upgrades will give Moree Race Club the facilities it deserves and make the raceday experience at the track even more enjoyable for trainers, owners, punters, jockeys and other racing participants,” Mr Toole said.
“These new facilities will draw even more people to town for a day at the track which means more money spent in local businesses at a time when we are focused on rebuilding regional economies.”
Turning the first sod – Shay Brennan Construction Project Administrator James Vaclavik,
Moree Race Club President Rob Mather, Northern Tablelands MP Adam,
Deputy Premier Paul Toole, Moree Race Club Maintenance Manager John Brown,
Moree Race Club Treasurer Shane Taunton and
Crown Lands Senior Property Management Officer Michelle Chittendon
View from the Moree Race Club grandstand
View of the current Moree Race Club grandstand
