NETBALL matches will be played at the Gippsland Regional Sports Complex as early as January after a contract was awarded to construct the facility.
Macalister Constructions was this week awarded the $6.3 million contract by Wellington Shire Council.
The news has been welcomed by local netball representatives, who have been lobbying for years for a suitable new home to make way for the TAFE relocation.
Works on the 12 outdoor courts and car parking will begin soon, with the ceremonial turning of the first sod in early November, and be completed early next year.
The design for the four-court indoor stadium, which will allow for sports such as netball and basketball as well as other events, needs to be finalised, but construction on Cobains Rd is set to begin after Christmas and be finished by August next year.
Mayor Darren McCubbin said the complex would include the latest in change rooms, meeting rooms and administration areas as well as playing surfaces.
"Undoubtedly it will provide the best court facilities in Gippsland,'' he said.
For more, read Friday's Gippsland Times.