The Knox Hockey Club are being kicked off their fields and sent on the hunt to find a new home.
The Knox School, the current home and facility provider of the Knox Hockey Club, have informed the club that the field will no longer be at the school once they redevelop.
The masterplan for the future of the school was finalised in December 2016, with plans intending to build an early year's education hub on the location that the hockey field currently sits.
The current contract between the Knox Hockey Club, The Knox School and the Knox City Council ends in 2018, and are currently in the process of extending or writing a new contact that will allow the club to use the facility until October 2021.
'’We knew that contract would end, but we didn’t think that they would just get rid of the ground all together, we thought that we would just extend it,’’ said Taylor Huxtable, captain of the Knox Hockey Club’s women’s team.
The Knox School’s hockey field is the only one in Knox, and the hunt for a new location is proving to be a difficult task due to the amount of vacant land needed to build a new hockey field.
Chief executive of the Knox City Council, Tony Doyle, said ‘’council will work closely with the Hockey club to identify a new home within Knox and this will include looking at existing facilities within the municipality as well as green field sites.’’
Funding for a new hockey facility is also an arising issue.
‘’A financial contribution from Council will be…a decision for Council once a new site has been identified,’’ said Mr. Doyle.
‘’Council will also advocate to other levels of government for funding.’’
Ward Councillor, Jackson Taylor, believes the Knox Hockey Club plays an important role in the community and is determined to keep the club alive.
'‘Knox council, and myself personally, we're a very big believer in local sporting groups, and making sure they have the facilities they need to …have the wider benefit to the community,’’ Cr. Taylor said.
‘’People really, really care about the Knox Hockey Club…and it would be a sad day to see the club dissolve,’’ said Cr. Taylor.
‘’If it’s up to me that’s certainly not going to be happening, and I’ll be working…extremely hard.’’
Councillor Taylor aspires for the new facility to have two fields to cater for the growth of the Knox Hockey club.
‘’I feel very positive in terms of actually getting it built and finding a new home for the club.’’
The Knox Hockey Club has a strong presence within the Knox community with around 400 players, and the uncertainty of the club’s future leave many nervous.
‘’I can’t image anywhere else I would go because it’s just Knox. Knox is Knox, and Knox is a family,’’ said Miss. Huxtable.
The Knox School was unable to provide a response in time for the publishing of this article.
*Pictures sourced from the Knox Hockey Club Facebook page.
