MEDIA RELEASE - $10m overhaul of Seymour Shaw Park a huge win for local grassroots sport

One of the Sutherland Shire’s most iconic sporting precincts is set to receive a major overhaul with works underway on significant improvements to playing surfaces at Miranda’s Seymour Shaw Park, with a host of new and improved facilities also to be delivered.

Sutherland Shire Mayor, Councillor Jack Boyd was joined today by Sarah Kaine MLC, Member for Miranda, Eleni Petinos, and representatives from a host of local sports clubs to turn the first sod on the $10m project, which will deliver vast improvements for keen local cricketers, soccer players and netballers.

The project, which has been made possible through almost $3m in state government funding through the Department of Planning, Infrastructure and Environment’s Accelerated Infrastructure Fund grants program, is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

Sutherland Shire Council is also contributing a further $7m to see the suite of improvements delivered as part of its Stage 2 Masterplan project, following the delivery of the $5m Seymour Shaw Youth Precinct which was completed in 2023.

Mayor Boyd said he was delighted to see work commence on stage two of the masterplan project, which would complete what had been a major transformation of one of the best loved and most used sporting precincts in the Sutherland Shire.

“We all know local residents love their sport, so it’s a tremendous milestone to get stage two of our Seymour Shaw Masterplan project underway, which will deliver the quality sports infrastructure local cricketers, soccer players and netballers deserve,” Mayor Boyd said.

“The Youth Precinct delivered under stage one of our masterplan for Seymour Shaw Park was a real passion project of mine, providing some of Sydney’s best skating facilities as well as a host of other amazing sports and recreational facilities.

“With stage two now underway we will soon be able to provide a suite of upgraded facilities to those involved in local team sports, helping to better support the game day experience and training facilities available for local cricketers, soccer players and netballers alike.”

Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Paul Scully said the upgrade will directly benefit the residents of around 1,400 homes in Miranda.

“We’re cementing the already beloved Seymour Shaw Park as the centrepiece for community sport in the Sutherland area,” Mr Scully said.

“These works build on a previous $4.75 million NSW Government investment which delivered a precinct with a skate park, children’s playground, parkour activity area and half basketball court.”

As part of the extensive upgrades which will be delivered under stage two of the masterplan project, local sportspeople can look forward to such improvements as;

  • levelling of the sporting fields and high-quality turf sports fields designed to accommodate cricket, soccer and netball
  • a new amenities building with supporting sport facilities, public toilets and a viewing platform
  • terraced bleacher seating to ensure a better experience for spectators
  • pathways to support all-abilities access to the new facilities
  • landscaping to the site including the planting of new trees; and
  • new lighting to better support nighttime training and competition.

Member for Miranda, Eleni Petinos welcomed the commencement of the second stage of the project, saying it would come as a major boon for sport and recreation in the Sutherland Shire.

“Seymour Shaw Park is such a vital hub for our local sports community, and these upgrades will better accommodate the training and competition needs of people taking part in a whole range of sporting endeavours,” Ms Petinos said.

“Sporting groups have called for the playing fields at Seymour Shaw to be upgraded for many years, so I’m thrilled that the works have commenced on this important community project.”

Among the many beneficiaries of the project will be the Miranda Magpies Football Club who for the first time will be able to stage home games on a level playing surface, boasting vastly improved turf pitches.

Miranda Magpies Club President, Adam Webb, said he was excited to see the suite of works planned as part of stage two of the project now set to leap from the drawing board and into reality.

“Miranda Magpies have been a vital part of the Sutherland Shire for more than 70 years, and we offer a chance for everyone from preschoolers to those aged well into their senior years to get involved in the game of football,” Mr Webb said.

“With the incredible growth in participation we have seen in the game locally, it will be incredible to have even more ability to cater to local players and the friends and family that cheer them on with the new facilities being delivered as part of this project.”