WA Project Claims Top AFL Community Facilities AwardWednesday, June 8, 2022 - 11:52 AM - by Mark Readings

The Lakelands Park Sporting Complex in Mandurah has been named the winner of the prestigious National Project of the Year as part of the AFL’s annual Ken Gannon Community Football Facilities Awards. 

Lakelands Park is a 7.9-million-dollar project with 10 hectares of open space in the City of Mandurah. 

There are three senior reserves, competition-standard lighting at all three ovals, AFL goal posts and an inclusive district level sports facility that meets AFL guidelines. 

The development benefits the North Mandurah Junior and Senior Football Clubs as well as the local community. 

The Ken Gannon Awards recognise the best practice in community football facility development across Australia, along with the people, clubs and other stakeholders driving the best projects. 

North Mandurah Junior Football Club President Tracey Kaciuba is proud of the facility. 

“The North Mandurah Junior and Senior Football clubs’ growth into the Lakelands Park facility has been a great success and allowed the continued growth of football in the wider community. 

The club can now facilitate more modern training activities and matches to inspire young community members into pursuing the game all the way to a senior level. 

The new club room facilities, accessible meeting space and function area provide opportunities for the club to engage with local community groups to develop a spirit throughout the rapidly growing northern suburbs of Mandurah,” Kaciuba said. 

North Mandurah Football Club President Robert Ireland has detailed the extent of the improvements at the venue. 

“Our Senior club has been a success since moving to the new facility in 2020. 

Without the new facilities, we wouldn’t have a senior club. 

In 2019 we shared the Secret Harbour grounds and trained on a soccer pitch. 

Now we have a full oval with lights, change rooms, showers, and a function room. 

This season we have 41 players in our Men’s Division and 36 players in our Women’s team. 

We’ll only continue to grow,” Ireland said. 

The awards are funded by the AFL’s Australian Football Facilities Fund which delivers 50 million dollars worth of community football facility projects benefitting more than 100 clubs each year. 
 

Ken Gannon Awards 2021 - State & Territory winners: 
 

 

Comments attributable to AFL Executive General Manager of Game Development Rob Auld:

The Lakelands Park project is an incredible example of stakeholders across government, local communities, sporting bodies and the AFL coming together to deliver an outcome which will have a major impact on the game in the region. 

I congratulate all those involved in Lakelands Park, as well as other State and Territory winners, who can be proud of what’s been achieved. 

The winners of the Ken Gannon Awards are remarkable examples of best-practice development that benefit the game and communities across Australia. 

The AFL is proud of its investment into the game and the facilities we use. 

We’re currently involved in more than 200 facilities projects in development or underway across the country, from elite to grassroots. 

To cater for growth in the game, the AFL aims to develop one new oval per week for the next five years, which will result in 250 new football ovals across the country in that time, grassroots. 

Ken Gannon had a decorated career across many areas of the game, including as Chief Executive of the Geelong Cats and AFL Victoria. 

Ken spent much of the last decade of his career developing the AFL’s interest and partnerships in the community facilities space, leading outcomes related to more than 800 community football facility projects in that period. 


About the AFL Ken Gannon Community Football Facilities Awards: 

The Ken Gannon Awards recognise best practice facility development across the country. 

The awards are assessed by looking at the impact a project has consistent with the AFL’s aim of providing well-positioned, welcoming, fit-for-purpose football facilities that support our growing game’s strategic priorities. 

AFL state and territory bodies identify their best community football facilities project of that year according to those criteria, which then places that project in the running for the National Award, pending assessment by the AFL National Facilities Panel in conjunction with Ken Gannon. 

 
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