Now in its 76th year, the Yarraville-based club will benefit from a $730,000 surface upgrade.

This is part of the council plan to boost sports-related facilities that includes a further $2,191,000 for parks and recreation as well as separate projects earmarked for the Maribyrnong Aquatic Centre ($622,000), Yarraville Oval ($265,000) and the Braybrook Sports Hub ($720,000).

The hefty allocation can be attributed to strong community responses in council surveys, according to outgoing council CEO Kerry Thompson. Ms Thompson believed Maribyrnong residents were keen on seeing "more bang for their buck" when it came to council spending.

For Footscray Hockey Club president Neil Coster, the cash injection will go towards upgrading the remainder of the complex to a synthetic surface after one field was replaced last year.

"It's been a long process of lobbying, but we've got the nod this year," he said.

"The process (with the council) has been open. The fact that the club had pledged to match the council's input dollar for dollar has helped the development go ahead."

While the hockey club won, the Women's Circus program was left to lament another year spent on the budgetary sidelines.

The community arts program, designed to "empower and inspire through participation in contemporary circus", is housed at the dilapidated drill hall in West Footscray, which program general manager Dianne Toulson has labelled as "irreparable".

"We have been chasing our own tails in terms of funding for a couple of years," Ms Toulson said.

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