INDUSTRY TOURS

24 June 2025 | FROM $275

NSC will offer innovation tours to sports fields and facilities, community sport and leisure facilities, with expert leaders and industry specialists to guide you through the day.

COMMUNITY SPORT & LEISURE FACILITIES

TUESDAY 24 JUNE

Sustainability embraces more than environmental aspects only and we will explore the community impact and financial considerations. The Tour will explore the newest centres in Victoria and with unique learnings that can be shared.

Tour sites include:

Carnegie Memorial Swimming Pool

Designed to blend with its parkland and residential surroundings, the new facility integrates sustainable features and has achieved the highest Green Star design review score for an aquatic centre in Australia.

The expanded facility includes indoor pools, sauna, spa, consulting suites, café, and program rooms.

The site will be led by Mike McGrath, Co-op Studio.

Bundha Sports Centre

Recently opened, Australia’s first multi-level sports complex, built to meet the growth in Fitzroy Gasworks urban precinct redevelopment, Bundha Sports Centre is integrated within Wurun Senior Campus, enabling a shared use arrangement that expands the centre into a seven court facility outside of school hours.

The centre features a multi-purpose futsal court on the ground level, alongside a welcoming entry, community lounge, café, and multi-purpose space. A mezzanine level above the foyer houses a 24-hour gym and changing facilities. The upper two levels each contain two multi-purpose courts for community basketball, netball, and volleyball, as well as social-level badminton.

The site will be led by Mike McGrath, Co-op Studio.

Northcote Aquatics and Recreation Centre

A Health & Wellness hub situated in Northcote, designed to meet sustainability standards and the 12 months since opening has exceeded all expectations, achieving membership and casual usage that exceeds all budgets, 12 months on, what are the learnings that can be embraced for new centres.

The site will be led by Brett Diprose, Warren & Mahoney.

Kensington Community Aquatic Leisure Centre – The City of Melbourne’s most updated community centre completely rebuilt to meet the growth in and around Kensington and North Melbourne for a very diverse community. The Tour will be led by Mike McGrath, Co-op Studio, lead architect on the facility.
Bundha Sports Centre
Northcote Aquatic & Recreation Centre

COMMUNITY SPORTS GROUNDS - DESIGN & INNOVATION

TUESDAY 24 JUNE

Exploring how the latest technology can be embraced to grow participation, encourage usage of outdoors sports facilities and cope with the intensity demands that local Councils are facing. Design sustainability is stimulating innovation that is being seen in community sports hubs.

This year’s Tour will showcase:

Casey Fields

South East Melbourne’s premier sports and recreation precinct. It is home to two professional sporting clubs, Melbourne Demons (AFL/AFLW) AND Melbourne City Football Club (A League) and regularly hosts state level and nationally televised events in sports such as cricket, rugby league, athletics and BMX. In the past two decades, Casey Fields has grown from 87 hectares of farmland to a complex boasting more than 30 fields, tracks, courts from community to elite levels.

The Tour will explore how different surfaces have been chosen to encourage an intensity of usage, including:

Rubber – athletics track
Hybrid – competition and community fields
Synthetic – competition, training and casual usage
Hard courts – exploring the community designs to encourage more people to play.

The Tour will be led by City of Casey staff and Erik Kinlon from HG Sports Turf to showcase the benefits of hybrid turf.

Polytan Factory Tour

Based in Dandenong, the tour will explore the factory’s ability to make all synthetic and hybrid grass, Hockey grass that doesn’t need water, as well as heat resistant hard surfaces for sports of netball, tennis, volleyball, 3-on-3 basketball and more.

The site will be led by ATP staff.

Spencer Pavillion, Ringwood

Exploring how innovation has driven cost-effective designs of pavilions and changing facilities to meet the growing demands of participation. New modular designs embrace innovation, and Fleetwood Australia celebrated 60 years of service to the community last year.

From single-level toilets, to multi-story buildings that incorporate changing facilities, gymnasiums, doctors/physio rooms, meeting and social spaces, as well as administration.

The site of Spencer Pavillion for Maroondah City Council explores some of the latest features.

ACTIVE CITIES FRAMEWORK WORKSHOP

TUESDAY 24 JUNE

Held at Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre.

Starting Active City policies and strategies – whether at local or national level, is not always easy. National, regional authorities and municipalities do not always know what an Active City is, where to start, what elements to consider and mobilise, or in what direction to develop.

This Active City Capacity-Building Workshop, delivered by TAFISA and Sport Ireland, aims to:

Raise awareness of the participants on: The benefits of promoting Sport for All and physical activity (SAPA), the significance of the city setting to promote Sport for All and physical activity, what is an Active City, the concept and philosophy behind it, and what can be achieved and the potential impact of Active City projects.
Build the capacity of participants to develop strategies, initiatives, programmes and events to promote Sport for All and physical activity, and design Active Cities
Initiate and engage innovative thinking amongst participants
Offer participants the opportunity to exchange experiences, ideas, goals and expectations, and learn from each other.