Help shape the future of the City Oval precinct

The City of Ballarat is planning for the future of the historic City Oval precinct and is inviting community input.

Public consultation is now under way to help shape the City Oval Master Plan, which will guide the long-term vision of this significant community and recreation asset.

Before any designs or detailed plans are drafted, local voices are being sought to help identify what future improvement of the City Oval should look and feel like.

The feedback gathered will inform the creation of a draft master plan, which will outline the next 10 years for the precinct.

The area that will be encapsulated within the master plan will include the entire City Oval football and netball precinct, the adjacent City Oval Bowling Club, as well as the Intercultural Garden.

The master plan will seek to enhance the entire reserve’s functionality, accessibility, and amenity for a wide range of users, while preserving its heritage significance and role as a key community and recreation precinct.

City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Tracey Hargreaves said the community’s input was vital in helping to shape the master plan.

“City Oval has been at the heart of Ballarat’s sporting and community life for well over a century,” she said.

“This consultation is about listening first. We want to hear how people use the space today, what they value most about it, and what improvements or ideas they'd like to see in the future.”

The City of Ballarat has been engaging directly with stakeholders in recent weeks, including all sporting stakeholders and nearby schools.

Now, the broader community is being invited to have their say.

A MySay page has been established on the City of Ballarat website where people can provide feedback.

The MySay page includes a series of multiple choice questions to help paint the clearest picture about current usage of the facility, as well as what the community would like to see into the future.

There will also be three in-person consultations held:

• Intercultural Garden on Wednesday 26 November,11am-1pm
• City Oval Bowls Club on Thursday 27 November, 5pm-7pm
• SpringFest on Sunday 30 November, 11am-1pm

The online consultation will remain open until Sunday 14 December.

There will be further opportunities for consultation when a draft master plan is developed, with the aim of having the final master plan presented to Council for consideration by late 2026.