CONSTRUCTION of a new eastern pavilion at Emil Madsen Reserve in Mt Eliza will soon begin after the Mornington Peninsula Shire awarded a multi-million-dollar contract for the works. Councillors made the decision at their 17 June meeting to award the contract to its preferred tenderer.
The project will be fully funded by the federal government after it provided $15m last year to initiate stage one of the Emil Madsen Reserve Master Plan. This includes the construction of a new single-storey, multi-use sports eastern pavilion to cater to soccer, junior football, cricket, and netball clubs.
As part of the works, one existing netball court will be demolished to make way for the new facility. It will feature male/female changeroom amenities, umpire changerooms, a social room with kitchen servery, offices, a medical room, all access public toilets, storage facilities, social space and meeting rooms, and a carpark. There will also be landscaping and associated civil and ancillary works.
Construction is expected to begin in August and be completed by November next year.
The council’s 2025–26 capital works program has locked in $8.375m for the Emil Madsen Reserve pavilion. In addition to the eastern pavilion, stage one of the master plan will see multiple projects undertaken including upgrades to power, water, and sewerage systems (separate tender to be released); and a new five-lane cricket net facility (already delivered and in use). Architects have also been appointed to undertake a detailed design of a west pavilion to support football, netball, junior football, and cricket clubs.
Cr Stephen Batty welcomed the milestone, saying the new pavilion would deliver long-term value to the region. “This is a very popular and probably the most populated sports arena on our Mornington Peninsula, with thousands of children and adults participating each week, so this will be an added value to that area,” he said.
Cr David Gill also supported the awarding of a contract but raised concerns that other areas of the peninsula were in “dire need” of sporting upgrades, and “it’s time for us to review our applications for funding”. “I’d like to point out that in almost 19 years of being a councillor, every single one of those years, there’s been funding for Emil Madsen Reserve,” he said. “Yet we have sports grounds without change rooms, we have sports grounds without female areas for changing, we have smaller grounds dotted throughout the peninsula that don’t have good facilities at all.”
The Mount Eliza Soccer Club (MESC), which plays at the Emil Madsen Reserve, said it was exciting news. “It means after years of advocating for a place to call home, it is finally happening,” the club said in a statement. “The club would like to warmly acknowledge that this project has been many years in the making. Throughout this journey, we’ve been fortunate to receive incredible support from our co-tenants, the Mount Eliza Football/Netball Club, Mt Eliza Junior Football Club and the Mount Eliza Cricket Club. Together, our clubs have worked in partnership to shape a sporting precinct that welcomes and supports the entire community.”
The club also extended its gratitude senior MEJFC committee “for their long-standing leadership and support in driving this project, and we also honour the late federal member Peta Murphy, whose tireless advocacy for the Emil Madsen project was instrumental in securing the initial $15m in funding that brought this vision to life”.
The MESC said while it was celebrating the building of one pavilion, it remained committed to advocating for the full realisation of the Emil Madsen precinct including securing funding for a new joint-use football and cricket pavilion.
First published in the Mornington News – 22 July 2025
