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Sydney Uni Sport and Fitness has received one of its largest ever responses to fundraising from the Sydney University Hockey Club towards a new, artificial hockey turf field to be located at the Cumberland campus.

The $1.75 million raised is the catalyst behind The University committing to building a new turf for Men’s and Women’s Hockey at the Cumberland campus.

In the mid-1990s rules stipulating that hockey must be played on synthetic pitches forced the Hockey Club to begin renting turfs all over Sydney for training and games, often at 9pm at night or later. The Sydney Uni Hockey Club has spent the past 20 years dreaming of having a “home” turf of its own. That dream, thanks to the many donors within the Club, is well on the way to becoming a reality. 

“It is a phenomenal development for the Sydney Uni Hockey Club and for University sport in general. I would like to express my sincere thanks to all of the Hockey Club donors on behalf of SUSF, and to The University for its continual support of sport and, in this case, the commitment to build a “Home Ground” hockey turf,” said SUSF Executive Director, Robert Smithies.

The total sum is comprised of new funds donated or pledged, funds already in the University of Sydney Sport Foundation Hockey Division and funds in the Hockey Club account. This new fundraising initiative will be known as the “Home of Hockey” appeal.

SUSF has been working with The University to develop a master plan for sport at the Cumberland campus. The centerpiece of this strategy involves the construction of the state-of-the-art hockey turf. The total estimated price for this new piece of infrastructure is $4.1 million and until this incredible financial support was secured, SUSF have been unable to reveal details of this plan. With the total now able to be made public, SUSF can also confirm this new hockey turf will be built. 

This significant fund will enable detailed design work to begin straight away, with the remainder of the funds to be raised during the design and construction phases. SUSF will be contributing $1 million and The University will be committing the land and the remainder of the cost. Plans for a second turf field on the site are also being drawn up and will be subject to further fundraising in future years. 

SUSF and the CIS team have already worked together successfully on the Sydney Uni Sports & Aquatic Centre Extension and the new grandstand on Oval No. 2, and this project will be another team effort with the top quality staff at CIS leading the way. 

SUSF is continuing to see the power of philanthropy and this donation total sets a new bar. In particular, the contribution of the Hockey Club demonstrates the overwhelming generosity of so many club members, and their passion for their Club translating into tangible infrastructure which will benefit hockey for decades to come. 

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