It has been seven years in the making, but finally, the Lismore Regional Sports Hub was officially opened yesterday, thus declaring it is ready to host some serious sporting events in 2025.

Federal Member for Page Kevin Hogan, Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin and Lismore Mayor Steve Krieg performed the cutting of the red ribbon ceremony surrounded by the heads of a host of sporting codes, including football (or soccer to some), rugby league, rugby union, AFL, hockey, cricket, to name a few.

Mr Hogan said the funding was granted "seven or eight years ago". That is $6 million from the Federal Government, $4.9 million from the NSW Government and $1.5 million from Lismore City Council.

COVID-19 and the 2022 floods slowed the building process down considerably and also forced design changes to make the building more flood-resilient.

"It had started construction (before the 2022 floods), but it was basically a skeleton," Mayor Steve Krieg explained.

"Structurally, it wasn't damaged at all, but it allowed our design teams to incorporate much more flood-resilient programs into the design and into the build."

"Where we're standing, you know, it's the epoxy over the concrete. It's all made out of Besser block building materials. Everything is waterproof and weather-resistant, so like I said, it is easy to clean and easy to fix-up after a flood.

"What it does highlight, and I'm sure Kevin will back me up on this, is the need for flood mitigation as well, to be able to protect these multimillion-dollar investments that state and federal government and local government are putting into these facilities. We also need that protection and that certainty from flood mitigation.

"If this goes under again, it's actually not a lot of time and effort to get it back operational again. But we'd prefer that it didn't go underwater. So, if we can get the flood mitigation, everything will be put into place for us."

Making the building flood-resilient was important for future floods, but creating media facilities and installing broadcast-quality lighting was critical for Lismore to attract major sporting events, like it did in the 1980s and 1990s when teams like the dominant West Indies would play at Oakes Oval.

(One of the new media rooms overlooking Crozier Field)

(The tunnel connecting Oakes Oval and Crozier Field)

(Part of the new change room facilities to support AFL, rugby and cricket teams)

"This really is the whole package, and I am looking forward to going down and lobbying for something other than flood money, lobbying for some sporting codes to get up here and participate in Lismore."

When asked if some of those discussions were likely to bear fruit, Mayor Krieg was optimistic.

"Nothing that I can officially announce. There have definitely been talks underway, and there are a few things in the pipeline early next year. Getting a men's BBL game here is a bit of a challenge. They do get to Coffs Harbour at the moment. But we've definitely spoken with Cricket Australia about getting a women's BBL game here, which is a very viable option for us, and we'd love for that to happen.

"We've also been in conversations with rugby league and AFL. You know the AFL are keen to bring another preseason (match). We had a preseason match here not too long ago, 2021 I think it was, the Gold Coast and the Sydney Swans, and I would just love to get something like that again to really test the facility.

"We do have something in the works for February. I can't say any more than that at the moment. If it comes off. It'll be great. And we'll get we'll get upwards of 10,000 here."

To attract these premium games and matches, the Lismore Regional Sports Hub has had to build six changerooms of a standard that can manage an AFL team, both men's and women's.

As all of Lismore understands, our city maybe capable of hosting an AFL or rugby league pre-season game, but we are not ready to host the thousands that would travel to see a high-quality game.

"We need more accommodation to be able to house people that come to our region. Obviously, that area and that sector hasn't fully recovered post-flood yet. But there are exciting things in the works for that as well. I keep mentioning patience, and I think in the next three to five years, we will have the accommodation facilities and the sporting facilities to rival any region in Australia.

Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin expressed the importance of the Lismore Regional Sports Hub.

"This is a fantastic sporting facility. Lismore deserves it and as a regional hub for sport, it means that everybody will feed into it. It helped us post-flood, sport helped us sort of get over the brink and sport is a key part of our recovery. Sport pulls community together. Sport is community."

Member for Page Kevin Hogan explained the financial benefits the hub will provide Lismore.

"What this facility will do, we hope, will bring a lot of sports tourism to the town, and we need all the tourism we can get. When we've seen the Under 12 Cricket Carnival, for example, the families come here not for overnight stays, they're here for a whole week. They often bring families and their stay is longer than a normal tourist stay. So, it's a really important part of our economy."

'If you build it, they will come' is the popular misquote from Kevin Costner's Field of Dreams. Now the Lismore Regional Sports Hub is complete, we wait in anticipation for the first major sporting match to be announced, and then for a huge crowd to fill every available seat and piece of grass to watch it as it is broadcast to the rest of the country.