The Blue Mountains croquet club has found a home.
A section of Peter Carroll Field at Leura will be set aside to create two new croquet lawns, with the club sharing the ground with the Blue Mountains Cricket Association.
The club will pay for the development of the lawns and the installation of a storage shed on site. It has also raised enough money to establish a third lawn outside the oval boundaries, so they can play on weekends when the cricketers are in action on the pitch.
Croquet club treasurer, Gail Siccardi, said they had been fundraising, through garage sales, raffles and the like, for some time.
"We've been doing it for five years because we knew that one day we would have to move," she said. The club currently rents space at the old Blackheath Bowling Club but it is not available long-term.
President, Barry Moray, was unsure when the lawns would be built, but said: "We have preliminary drawings and they are all ready to go. We'll have two lawns inside the oval and one outside so we can play on a Saturday when the cricket is on."
They're also hoping that some of the spectators at the cricket might want to try a game of croquet while they're there.
"We think we might pick up some new members with the families and others at the cricket," Ms Siccardi said.
The cricket association is pleased to have others share their patch.
"We're happy to have increased usage at our facility," said Ian Strudwick, CEO of the association.
The cricketers have been busy building their clubhouse at the field, which will be open for the new season in October, Mr Strudwick said.
Peter Carroll Field is Crown land managed by council. Council has agreed not to hire the oval out for any sports involving studded boots or to other users who might damage the surface.
Both the cricket and croquet clubs were grateful for funds they received in community building partnership grants from the NSW government.
