The Sports Infrastructure Plan will guide how Council plans, manages and invests in Stonnington’s sporting facilities over the next 10–15 years.

It looks at how we can make better use of the facilities we already have, where improvements may be needed and how we can create more opportunities for people to participate in sport as our community grows and changes.

Council can’t upgrade every facility at once, so the draft Plan uses an evidence-based approach to help determine priorities.

Facilities and potential projects are considered against factors including condition, functionality, accessibility, utilisation and participation.

This helps Council identify where investment is likely to address the greatest need and deliver the greatest community benefit.

The Plan considers sports infrastructure as a network across Stonnington rather than allocating the same number of facilities or projects to every area.

Investment priorities are informed by evidence including the condition, accessibility, functionality and utilisation of facilities, as well as participation and demand.

This means investment will not necessarily be evenly distributed geographically. Instead, the aim is to direct investment to where there is demonstrated need and where it can improve access and participation.

Demand for sporting facilities is growing, while many of Stonnington’s existing facilities are ageing and our ability to create new facilities is limited.

Participation is also changing. More women and girls are playing sport, and people are looking for different and more flexible ways to be active.

The Plan provides a long-term approach to responding to these changes and prioritising future investment.

The Plan considers Council’s network of sports infrastructure, including sportsgrounds, pavilions, courts, sports lighting and other facilities that support organised and community sport.

It focuses on the infrastructure needed to support participation rather than decisions about individual clubs or sporting organisations.

The Sports Infrastructure Plan primarily focuses on infrastructure supporting organised sport.

Council recognises that many people stay active in other ways, including walking, running, outdoor exercise and informal recreation. These needs will be considered more broadly through Council’s Active Recreation Infrastructure Plan, which is being developed separately.

Yes. Participation continues to change, and the Plan needs to be flexible enough to respond to emerging sports and new ways people want to be active.

The Sports Infrastructure Plan considers opportunities such as adaptable spaces, increasing court capacity and partnerships.

Broader planning for informal and active recreation, including activities such as pickleball and padel, will also be considered through Council’s Active Recreation Infrastructure Plan.

The draft Plan looks at a range of ways to create more opportunities for people to participate.

Because Stonnington has limited available land, building entirely new facilities will not always be possible. Opportunities could instead include making better use of existing facilities, adapting or sharing spaces, increasing capacity at existing sites and partnering with schools, neighbouring councils and other organisations.

Building or upgrading infrastructure is only part of the response to growing demand.

One of the draft Plan’s three priorities, Smarter Management, focuses on getting more from the facilities we already have. This includes looking at how facilities are planned, allocated, accessed and shared, and identifying opportunities to increase use where capacity is available.

Separate work, including Council’s Sportsground Allocations Policy, will help guide detailed decisions about how sportsgrounds and pavilions are allocated.

No. The Plan does not mean every facility will be upgraded.

Council has limited land and funding, so future investment will need to be prioritised based on evidence about community need, facility condition, accessibility, functionality, utilisation and participation.

The Plan provides a consistent framework to help guide these decisions.

No. The draft Plan provides a long-term direction and identifies indicative priorities for sports infrastructure.

Future projects will still need to be considered through detailed planning and Council’s budget and capital works processes.

Timing and priorities may also change as circumstances change, including where external funding or partnership opportunities become available.

No. The draft Plan identifies strategic investment priorities but does not commit Council to funding individual projects in particular years.

Detailed project scope, costs and delivery methods will be considered through project planning, Council’s annual budget and updates to the 10-Year Capital Works Program.

Council funding will be one part of delivering the Plan.

Given the scale of future demand and the cost of sports infrastructure, Council will also need to pursue opportunities including State and Federal Government grants, partnerships, advocacy and co-investment.

This will help Council explore opportunities beyond what it can deliver through its own funding alone.

Schools and other organisations own sporting facilities across Stonnington that could potentially provide additional opportunities for community sport.

Council does not control access to these facilities, but the draft Plan supports investigating school sporting facilities, understanding existing access arrangements and identifying opportunities for greater community use.

This could include working with government and non-government schools to explore partnerships and shared or reciprocal access arrangements.

Participation by women and girls has grown, but some older sporting facilities were not designed to support equitable participation.

The draft Plan considers how future investment and renewal can help address barriers to participation and create facilities that are more inclusive and accessible for everyone.

No specific sportsgrounds have been identified or approved for conversion to synthetic turf through the draft Plan.

The draft Plan proposes investigating whether synthetic surfaces could help increase the capacity of some sportsgrounds. Further work would be required to determine whether any sites are suitable, taking into account sporting demand, site conditions, community needs and environmental considerations.

Council’s Environment Strategy work will also consider the impacts of natural and synthetic surfaces to help inform future decisions.

The Sports Infrastructure Plan is primarily about the long-term planning and provision of sporting infrastructure.

Detailed decisions about how Council sportsgrounds and pavilions are allocated and accessed are being considered separately through Council’s Sportsground Allocations Policy.

Together, this work will help Council respond to demand and make effective use of its existing facilities.

We want to know whether the draft Plan is heading in the right direction for Stonnington.

You can provide feedback on the proposed priorities and directions, what you think is most important for the future of sports infrastructure, and whether there are issues or opportunities you think we have missed.

Your feedback will be considered alongside the evidence and technical work that informed the draft Plan.

It will help Council understand what should be changed, strengthened or added before the Sports Infrastructure Plan is finalised.

Consultation on the draft Plan closes on 29 September 2026.

Once consultation closes, Council will review all feedback and use it to help shape the final Sports Infrastructure Plan.

We’ll publish a summary of what we heard on Connect Stonnington before the final Plan is presented to Council for consideration.

Stonnington has a limited amount of open space, and it needs to support many different community needs.

The Sports Infrastructure Plan focuses specifically on the infrastructure needed for sport. It connects with Council’s Open Space Strategy and Environment Strategy, which consider the broader future of our open spaces, including passive recreation, urban greening, biodiversity and climate resilience.

Together, these strategies will help Council make informed decisions about how our limited spaces can support a growing community.