The Summit Football Facility at Mt Barker continues to be a mecca for participation and activity for the expanding code in the region. As a Premier State Regional Facility, the Summit Football Facility has proven both on and off the field a valuable resource to many clubs and community user groups from the Adelaide Hills region with Mt Barker United SC as the anchor tenant of the facility.
Seed funding provided to Football SA via the South Australian State Government to the value of $2.5 million was the catalyst for further investment from the Mt Barker Council and the Federal Government. The tri party arrangement has led to the creation of the Summit Football Facility and has seen participants from 5 to 65 years of age use the venue on a weekly basis. Activity each night of the week combined with heavy use over Saturday and Sunday has been a feature of the outstanding asset for the football community.
Mt Barker United SC has transitioned from Cornerstone College where BBQ’s were prepared under a marquee to a purpose built facility catering for players of all ages from the region. Since moving to the Summit Football Centre, team numbers have grown from 20 to 34 teams, equating to a 70% increase since 2020. That represents an increase of 220 players across all age groups.
The Mt Barker Soccer Club president Natasha Raven stated,
“The Summit Football Facility has provided valuable facilities to offer opportunities for more players of all age groups to play the game they love. The arrangement with Football SA works for us and as evidenced by our growth is working very well. We look forward to the venue expanding so that we can welcome more players to our club.
Football SA CEO is delighted with progress of the club and facility.
“The vision for the Summit was for Football to have a significant presence at the state of the art precinct. Mt Barker had expressed a great desire to evolve with our support and that is coming to fruition. There is certainly a lot of work still to be done but the future looks extremely bright in what is one of the fastest growing regions in the country. Use of the Summit is fantastic to see. It is great that use is shared amongst many user groups and open to the public for use during the day.
Such success of the Summit Football Facility, Football SA has been in discussion with Council to transition from its current license agreement to a head lease, followed by future expansion plans as the code to accommodate the growth of new participants year on year being experienced in the area.”
The Summit Football Facility caters from the semi-professional game to the grassroots with school holiday camps, development centres for young boys and girls, coaching and referee courses as well as community use by the Adelaide Hills Junior Soccer Association.