The Cowra Senior Soccer Club continues to face significant challenges due to the lack of a dedicated home ground, which is impacting their ability to train and host games. Unlike other local sports teams, the club does not have a permanent venue, which limits their scheduling flexibility and affects player participation. Currently, the team is forced to hire Sid Kallas Oval, home of the Cowra Magpies, to conduct evening training sessions. Their usual soccer fields lack proper lighting, making it impossible to train later in the day. Without access to Sid Kallas, the team is left without a viable training option. Club president Drew Willis explained how this situation affects the team. “It just gives us less freedom to host trainings where we want, when we want, and same with games as well,” Drew said. “We don’t have any control, which restricts availability for teams and players.” With many players unable or unwilling to travel to other towns like Orange for training or games, having a consistent home ground is crucial for player retention and growth. Sharing space with other sporting codes at Sid Kallas Oval has also led to logistical challenges. Drew highlighted the difficulties of coordinating with other teams, saying, “we've been there to train, and there’s been other footy teams training, obviously, because it is a footy ground”. “They think they hold some sort of precedent, which is fair enough, it’s their ground, “But when we’re paying rates and maintenance, it just gets a bit annoying when there's a clash,” he said. The club’s dependence on renting a ground primarily used for rugby league creates further scheduling conflicts, forcing soccer to take a backseat at times. Efforts to find a long-term solution have so far made little progress. The club has approached the local council multiple times, advocating for improvements to existing facilities or the establishment of a dedicated soccer venue. However, these discussions have yet to result in meaningful action. “We approached council, but there's been little to no movement,” Drew said. “They mentioned improving lighting at the netball courts, but nothing has come of it, “There's also talk of putting lighting at the junior fields, but concerns over flooding have stalled progress,” he said. The club’s priority is to secure a space where they can train twice a week, similar to other sports like rugby and AFL. The current situation limits their training to just one evening a week when they can book Sid Kallas Oval, and even that isn't always guaranteed. “We used to train two nights a week, which is pretty important,” Drew said. “Footy, rugby, AFL… They all train two nights a week, “That narrows down our ability to train where they train because they want those days too,” he said. Beyond the immediate need for training space, the club sees a permanent ground as essential to the long-term growth of soccer in Cowra. “It gives people an opportunity to have a kick around year-round if they want to,” Drew said. “Soccer goals currently get taken down, unlike other sports that have permanent setups,” he said. He believes that having a stable venue will encourage more participation, improve player development, and enhance community engagement with the sport. However, the reality of securing such a facility is challenging. Drew acknowledges the significant financial investment required for upgrades such as lighting and infrastructure but insists that even modest improvements could make a big difference. “We don’t really want a lot,” he said. “Obviously, having lights would be beneficial, but that costs up to hundreds of thousands of dollars, so we don’t expect that, “We just want somewhere that we can play, “There are options there, but nobody seems to want to put in the effort to make it happen,” he said. Despite the setbacks, the club remains hopeful and proactive. They have recently begun working more closely with the Sports Council to push for progress and explore possible solutions. “I know it's not going to happen overnight, but it just feels like nobody wants to put in the effort to help us find a solution,” he said. “That’s partly on us for not getting involved earlier, but we're on to it now, so hopefully, things start moving forward,” Drew said.
