The work had been set for completion before the start of the 2018 winter sport season, but had to be delayed after it was discovered there was not enough money in the budget to complete the proposed work.

A proposal had been put to the Office of Liquor and Gaming (OLG) by a coalition of local sporting bodies, resulting in a $692,000 grant, while the council ($100,000) and Trangie Action Group ($12,000) also contributed to the $854,000 budget.

But it was discovered late last year there was not quite enough funding to complete the work.

A new plan had to be approved by OLG before the council could get to work, Cr Davies said, meaning it would have been a rush to complete the project before the football season.

“Council have taken the position that we won’t do jobs unless they can be done properly,” Cr Davies said.

“Because a plan was put to these guys … we’ve got to go back to them and say ‘we can’t fit all that in, if we do this, that and the other the impact won’t be that great and we’ll get it done’.

“We’ll leave it until the end of the year, that gives us plenty of time at the end of the winter footy season and we can probably get it done between September and Christmas.”

“It was just a matter of practical management coming to the fore and we hope to hear back from the Office of Liquor and Gaming very soon.”

The work will include improved playing surfaces, new drainage and irrigation as well as outdoor exercise equipment at the fields.

Cr Davies said the upgrade has been a long time coming.

“This group of dedicated people spent a hell of a lot of time and a hell of a lot of energy putting together an application,” he said.

“[We could have] tried to fit it between now and the end of May … [but] it wouldn’t have given the project the chance of getting the best outcome that we could achieve.

“The oval has been pretty ordinary for a long time, we can wait another season.”