Centre of Excellence: Canberra can't ever have this

Centre of Excellence one step closer to reality

Following last week’s confirmation of $10 million in Federal Government funding, the Central Coast Mariners trust has taken another significant step in the creation of its Centre of Excellence at Tuggerah, with an agreement now in place for the construction of up to 10 multi use outdoor sports courts.

The Mariners trust has reached an agreement with the UK’s leading constructor of Five-a-side complexes, “Soccer 5’s”, with the development set to become their first, and flagship entry into the Australian market.

“Soccer 5’s” has a deep in-house knowledge of the Five-a-side industry in the UK. Neil Hickey (Soccer 5’s Development Director) has been building Five-a-side centres in the UK since their inception in the early 1990's, including one of the first centres at the famous Wembley Stadium.”

“The Mariners have embarked on a wonderful venture and when we were first approached, we were determined to be a part of it,” said Chairman of Soccer 5’s Jack Smith.

“We’ve been working with (Mariners trust Chairman) Peter Turnbull on this project fort six months and we intend on becoming the number one provider of Five-a-side complexes in Australia, and we already have plans to open another five around Australia in the coming 12 months.

“The Mariners Centre of Excellence will be our first however, and we will take great pride in it being the flagship for all future developments in the country.”

This component will be the first exciting part of stage one of the plans for the Mariners Centre of Excellence, which is awaiting issue of a construction certificate from Wyong Shire Council.


It is envisaged that Certificate will be issued before the end of the year, allowing work on the project to commence, as scheduled, in February 2011.

“Five-a-side football is one of the fastest growing sports in the UK and in Europe, and we are convinced it will be here in Australia as well,” said Turnbull.

“As this is such a major focal point of the Centre of Excellence, and also something which will be of major use to the Central Coast community, it was important to make sure we had the right builders and operators for us. We are satisfied we have achieved that and have full confidence in Jack and his team.

“Having seen their designs, frankly, I can’t wait to see it in operation, it will be superb,” Turnbull said.