Member for Orange Phil Donato has called on the NSW government to prioritise the construction of the city's $25 million sports stadium to jumpstart coronavirus recovery. Mr Donato called for the government to make the funding available for council to finalise planning and get shovels in the ground as soon as possible. "That was the big-ticket item in the lead-up to the election and it's something I'll continue to pressure the government on," Mr Donato said. "We need to make sure they can make that money available available as easily as possible because there is a bit of red and green tape to get the money but I want to see all those things delivered. "There's great great public support for those projects in Orange." The project was promised by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian ahead of last year's March vote, and while initially promised on the condition Nationals candidate Kate Hazelton be voted in, the government backtracked and promised the project regardless of who won. The stadium will include a sporting precinct based at the old Country Club golf course with several outdoor multi-purpose fields. While Orange regularly hosts carnivals - including the Western NSW Junior Cricket Carnivals, the NSW Boys' Under 15 State Championship for rugby union and the NSW Touch Football State Titles last year - Mr Donato said the new complex would increase the city's ability to host major events. "The $25 million sports stadium was obviously a promise the Premier made in the lead-up to the election last year and that would have a great impact on our community, not only with jobs but also once that facility is built," he said. "[It would help] attracting major events to Orange, major fixtures to Orange and also allow for junior carnivals - rugby league, soccer, rugby union, things like that - where people travel all over the state with their children and families to go and participate in junior carnivals." Mr Donato said he'd travelled the state as far as Broken Hill and Taree with his sons in their junior playing days and said it was "great for local communities in the country". "As a family you travel the state and spend a lot of money in that community in the week you're there," he said. "We want to see regional NSW really prosper so there's no reason we should be missing out."