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Home win for SW stadium build

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A Bunbury company that has won a multi-million dollar contract to build a sports stadium at Hay Park has vowed to employ the services of sub-contractors from the region.

At Tuesday's council meeting, Bunbury City Council awarded Picton-based Civilcon a $3.3 million contract to build the long-awaited Hay Park Multi-Sports Pavilion.

Civilcon general manager Nathan Buswell told the _South Western Times _it was among the highest-profile projects to be tackled by the company in its 13-year history.

In what will be a boon for the South West construction industry, Mr Buswell said Civilcon would seek sub-contractors from the region to help build the sports stadium.

"We pretty much source from local sub-contractors," Mr Buswell said.

"We have a good relationship with many local contractors and tend to use those where we can."

Mr Buswell said the contract had been a morale boost for Civilcon's 28 staff because the company had beaten competing tender offers from Perth-based and multi-national companies.

"We knew there were Perth companies pricing it (the stadium contract), as happens with many of the jobs down here," he said.

Civilcon and the council will negotiate the final contract but a start date for the 30-week construction has not been decided.

The Hay Park Multi-Sports Pavilion project, worth about $5 million in total, comprises two separate pavilions flanking a sporting ground.

One building includes changerooms, storerooms and toilets and the second incorporates a function area, food preparation sites and outdoor viewing spaces.

The facility will have enough seating to allow Western Australia's top-tier National Premier Leagues soccer games to be played in Bunbury.

Meanwhile, the council has allowed chief executive officer Andrew Brien to continue negotiations with the South West Phoenix Football Club and the South West Warriors Rugby League Club for lease agreements for use of the new sporting ground facility.

The clubs had rejected an initial offer to pay about $120,000 a year to be the major groups using the stadium.

Mr Brien confirmed it was the first time a sporting club was being asked to contribute to the ongoing maintenance costs for the life of a community-owned asset.