The report — developed via an extensive review of council’s sporting facilities and venues — follows council’s resolution to join the Events Placement Program operated by Sports Marketing Australia (SMA) last year.
The report was tabled at council’s meeting last week and says Murray River Council is in a good position to host regional, state or national events.
Being part of the process has already seen offers for the council to host a national basketball match between the Illawarra Hawks and South East Melbourne Magic.
Other offers received by council include a professional bull riding event at Moama Recreation Reserve, a UCI mountain bike event at Five Mile Moama and an Under Armour soccer coaching clinic at the Moama Rec Reserve.
Darts Australia has also announced Echuca-Moama as a home for its events for the next three years since council started its assessment report progress.
The 40th annual Target Australian Darts Championships and the Australian Open Darts Championships will be held in Echuca-Moama over 11 days in August.
The darts championships were earmarked as a potential Deniliquin event in Edward River Council’s ‘Sports Decentralisation Policy – Capacity and Capability Assessment’ report released in late 2016.
The report was also developed by SMA under the guidance of then Edward River Council director of economic development John Harvie, who is now Murray River Council’s economic development manager.
It is believed no events have been secured for Deniliquin and district on the back of its capacity and capability assessment.
Murray River Council Mayor Chris Bilkey said the report identifies the capacity and capability of local organisations and sporting clubs to host and manage events.
‘‘One of the key objectives outlined in council’s Community Strategic Plan is to promote and encourage events of both a local and regional nature,’’ Cr Bilkey said.
‘‘This report outlines the suitability to host such events at many of our venues and is a great reminder of what we actually have on offer.’’
The report delivers an overview of the region, highlights local attributes and delivers a comprehensive assessment of facilities across the council area including a rating on their suitability to host either a regional, state or national event.
‘‘Sports Marketing Australia will now use this report to identify suitable events to target as part of the ‘Events Placement Program’.
‘‘Internally, we will also utilise the assessment to identify future improvements to council sporting facilities and venues, which in turn may enable reclassification of the facility in relation to the level of event that can be hosted,’’ Cr Bilkey said.
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