INDUSTRY TOURS

30 June 2026

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

COMMUNITY SPORT & LEISURE FACILITIES

TUESDAY 30 JUNE | $275

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 Melbourne, 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.

COMMUNITY SPORTS GROUNDS

TUESDAY 30 JUNE | $275

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.

Tour sites include:

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.

PLANNING PLAY FOR ALL AGES

TUESDAY 30 JUNE | $225

Play Australia invites you to join us on an exciting Play Space Tour across Melbourne and its growing western and southeastern suburbs — a curated day out exploring some of the region’s outdoor play environments catering for risky play, teenagers and intergenerational engagement.

Join us for thought-provoking discussions and site visits exploring the play and recreation needs of young people and older generations. Our focus is on how we can meet the play needs of adolescents and what are the criteria for effective design.

Tour sites include: