Funding to finish grandstand

The budget will contain $6.5 million to build an undercover grandstand at the oval, which was first promised before the 2008 election.

According to Mr Barr, the new grandstand will take just over a year to build and he expects it to be ready to use at the same time as the scheduled completion of the enclosed oval itself, due to host its first games in 2014.

The new stand will be on the western side of the oval.

According to Mr Barr, the grandstand will provide covered seating for 580 people and open seating for a further 850.

It will also provide four team change rooms, two officials' change rooms, public toilets, a first aid room, kiosk, club room and storage areas.

The 2010-11 budget allocated $6 million to build the oval, which will be able to accommodate all major football codes to senior level and will be irrigated by the nearby Valley Ponds.

Sporting groups, who say the oval will be completed four years late, have expressed frustration at the slow progress of the construction job.

But Mr Barr said the grandstand's design was complete and the development application had been approved by government planners.

The minister said the work would start towards the end of this year, while the grassing and landscaping is under way at the oval.

President of the Gungahlin Bulls Rugby League Club Andy Sell welcomed the grandstand funding but said he and his clubmates remained frustrated at the slow progress of the oval project.

He said the grandstand, change rooms, referee's room, first aid room and scoreboard were all compulsory if the club was to be allowed to play Raiders Cup games at Gungahlin.