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More football can now be squeezed into the evenings at Boardman Oval with a $150,000 lighting upgrade giving Redcliffe Dolphins Soccer Club better use of two of its three pitches after dark.
The completed project replaced ageing lighting on seven existing poles with energy-efficient LED luminaires, along with new circuit protection, electrical equipment and lighting controls.
For a club with more than 300 returning players, the difference is more practical than cosmetic. Two pitches can now accommodate games under the improved lighting at the same time, opening more options for evening competition and events at the Kippa-Ring grounds.
Club president Ginette Barrett said that was one of the biggest gains from the upgrade.
“The new lighting creates more game time for players, as we can cater for more games being played at the same time across two pitches,” Ms Barrett said.
Read: Talobilla Park Keeps Growing as a Peninsula Sports Hub in Kippa-Ring
One less job for volunteers
There is also a smaller change that will be familiar to anyone who has helped run a community sporting club.
The new controls allow the lights to be switched on remotely. Previously, someone had to get to the grounds to operate them — another job for a volunteer at a club that describes itself as volunteer-run.
“The lights can be switched on from anywhere without having to be at the grounds, which saves volunteers time racing to the fields to turn them on and off,” Ms Barrett said.
The LEDs replace what the Queensland Government described as costly and outdated infrastructure. The department says the new system should reduce ongoing operating costs as well as improve conditions for evening training and competition.
The work was delivered through the Queensland Government’s Games On! program, which is supporting 119 community sporting infrastructure projects across the state.
Redcliffe Dolphins operates three soccer fields at Boardman Oval and caters for players from MiniRoos through junior and senior competitions. Its 2026 program includes FQPL3 and under-23 men’s teams, Metro football and junior age groups, while the club says more than 300 players returned to register.
Read: Dolphins Pitch Kippa-Ring Precinct Upgrade Ahead of Brisbane 2032
Another piece of Talobilla’s sporting puzzle
Boardman Oval sits within the much larger Talobilla Park sporting precinct, alongside facilities used for rugby league, baseball, softball and other community sport.
The lighting work is separate from the major projects now unfolding elsewhere at Talobilla, including the new softball clubhouse and further softball facility works ahead of the 2027 WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup Finals.
It does, however, add another completed improvement to a precinct that has been developed as a centre for Peninsula sport over several decades.
Council currently identifies three soccer fields at Talobilla Park. For the Dolphins, the immediate change is simpler: two of those pitches now have upgraded lighting, more games can be accommodated after dark, and switching the lights on no longer requires a volunteer to make a trip to the ground.
Published 16-September-2026
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