New management for Council’s major recreation facilities

Aligned Leisure, a subsidiary of the Richmond Football Club, will manage Cardinia Life, Pakenham Regional Tennis Centre and four seasonal outdoor pools. The contract will also include two soon-to-be-open facilities, Officer Community Hub and IYU Recreation Reserve – synthetic (soccer) pitch.

Cr Owen said the tender process had been an exhaustive one and she was thrilled to announce that Aligned Leisure would manage the facilities from 1 July and deliver unprecedented value to the community.

“This has been a competitive thorough process and a carefully considered decision. We are confident that Aligned Leisure will deliver great service and value to the community,” she said.

“I would like to thank Victorian YMCA Community Programming (YMCA) and acknowledge the significant contribution they have made to the community over the many years they have managed these facilities on Council’s behalf.”

“A transition process will ensure a smooth move to the new management with as little disruption to services, programs, members and participants as possible. Aligned Leisure has committed to re-employing the majority of staff in their existing or similar positions within the facilities,” she said.

Richmond CEO Brendon Gale said the successful tender was about partnering with the local community to deliver genuine outcomes.

“While decisions such as these are about our future, they are also about strengthening the communities that we work within. We look forward to providing Cardinia Shire residents with outstanding service and value.” Gale said.

“We have built our internal capacity in recent years and have a highly capable management team with years of experience in community health and fitness”, Gale added. Aligned Leisure will be headed up by Cain Liddle, Richmond’s General Manager of Consumer Business and Shane Dunne, Consumer Strategy Manager, both of whom have almost 15 years’ experience in the management of community recreation facilities.