Firth Park
Designing a high-capacity netball facility for the community
Queensland

The existing facility presented several technical and planning challenges.

The courts were non-compliant and in poor condition. Over time, multiple asphalt overlays had been applied, all of which failed due to reactive soils. The adjacent asphalt carpark was also deteriorating. Increasing parking capacity, improving drainage performance, and providing safer pedestrian connectivity all required careful planning due to the flood overlay across the site.

To further complicate the delivery, Council required a staged delivery of the netball courts to keep the precinct operational during construction, while also future-proofing the site for additional sports and infrastructure upgrades.

We delivered a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary design solution that balanced performance, constructability and long-term resistance to flooding and ground movement.

The designs were developed progressively through 30, 60, 90 and 100% stages, supported by cost estimates at each milestone to maintain budget certainty.

To ensure a robust pavement design, we coordinated additional geotechnical investigations to confirm the strength and reactivity of the existing pavement and soils. We found that the soils were low in strength and highly reactive. As a result, we specified lime stabilisation to reduce moisture content and improve the strength of the existing soils. We also tested the crushed rock to TMR standards and found that some of the existing rock was suitable for reuse beneath the courts and the carpark.

Unfortunately, during construction, a cyclone hit southeast Queensland while the subgrade was exposed. Luckily, the lime stabilisation had already been installed and cured, which allowed the subgrade bounce back to an appropriate moisture content in less than a week!

We engaged our subconsultants (Dryside Engineering for water quality modelling and Cumulus for flood modelling) to conduct Water Sensitive Urban Design modelling using MUSIC (Model for Urban Stormwater Improvement Conceptualisation) to improve runoff quality from the proposed car parks. Flood modelling was completed for multiple Annual Exceedance Probability events, informing site levels and ensuring proper water management across the site, both internally and externally.

Throughout the project, we coordinated closely with specialist sub consultants across lighting, geotechnical, traffic, hydraulics, landscape and structural disciplines. During construction, we continued to support Council with RFI (Request For Information) responses, shop drawing reviews, technical clarifications and regular coordination meetings to keep delivery on track.

The Firth Park Netball Courts redevelopment delivers a compliant, high-capacity community facility designed to support the region for decades to come.

The upgraded precinct now caters for both competition and training across multiple clubs and schools, with improved lighting, amenities, access and parking. The project was carefully staged to keep the precinct operational while allowing Firth Park to continue evolving over time.

Firth Park netball courts once completed.

The importance of the facility extends well beyond match day. As City of Gold Coast councillor Glenn Tozer noted, "Netball is already a core sport in the heart of Mudgeeraba. We are excited to see that expanded."

That sentiment has been reflected in the scale of events the venue now supports. During the Senior State Age Championships, around 1,500 players aged 15 to 17 competed over three days. According to Hinterland District Netball Association president Kimberley Seymour, "There were 137 teams plus seven boys' teams. We had 5,000 spectators every day — it was absolutely massive. It exceeded our expectations in terms of crowd capacity."

The project shows how coordinated civil, geotechnical, electrical and hydraulic design can deliver strong outcomes on complex community sites. For players, clubs and spectators, it creates a safer, more welcoming place to play, train and come together.

Source: Gold Coast council funds $5 million to turn Mudgeeraba into netball hub, create 'sports stars of the future'