Dubbo Regional Sports Hub Master Plan

The Dubbo Regional Sports Hub (DRSH) is a partnership between the NSW Public Works Advisory, the NSW Office of Sports and Charles Sturt University to deliver first-class sporting infrastructure for the Dubbo and broader Orana region of NSW, facilitating increased participation in sport. The Hub will enable local communities to compete at a local, regional or state level within the Orana Region, reducing the need for travel and encouraging local membership in sporting clubs.

Phase 1 is now under construction – the PCYC-run Multi-purpose Indoor Facility, which is intended to immediately satisfy the unmet demand for indoor facilities in Dubbo, while establishing the groundwork for the subsequent phases of the master plan to deliver the outdoor fields, rugby centre for excellence and tennis centre for excellence.

Extensive stakeholder engagement was required to understand the multiple functions (University, school, agriculture), were met. Run largely through Covid, AJC held several virtual design workshops with interested state, national and local sports bodies. The preferred master plan has a multi-stage indoor facility at the heart of the site, with gymnastics, tennis, rugby positioned along a walkable central spine, leading to netball facilities along Yarrandale Road.

The precise nature and scale of future outdoor sports were not fixed, with different sports’ needs balanced against a restricted project budget, sport-specific funding opportunities, existing local facilities and plans for expansion, and local preferences / participation levels. The master plan therefore established a flexible framework where sports can be substituted depending on the needs and supply at the time each future stage is initiated.