Tigers’ grand ground plan
By Stephen Linnell
1st July 2008 11:05:47 AM
Continued on Page 2.From Page 1.
WERRIBEE Football Club has embarked on an ambitious plan to turn Chirnside Park into the premier football and sports facility in the western region.
The club has approached Wyndham Council to fund a $50,000 consultancy to develop a master plan for the 100-year-old venue.
Future plans could include additional undercover seating and grandstands, function rooms, lights for night football, offices and a new, community-based gymnasium.
Werribee Tigers general manager Mark Penaluna put the submission to the council last week.
“We want it to become the key stadium in the West,” Mr Penaluna told Star.
“There’s no reason why we can’t turn it into an elite sporting facility for the area.
“We think there’s a number of areas that can be addressed. The spectator viewing both seating and undercover can be looked at.
“The facilities that maybe our players use but also the broader community can be using to improve their levels of fitness.
“If we had a proper gymnasium other young people in the community can come and use it.”
Mr Penaluna said a master plan of the oval and its facilities would take a long-term look at the venue and its future uses.
“We need to look at the longer term future for Australian Rules football and how this area can best serve the community as a whole,” he said.
“We need to do an audit of the facilities – this ground is over 100 years old and some of the facilities are that age as well.”
The Western Region Football League will play the finals at the venue for the next three years.
“There’s many reasons why the City of Wyndham can be and should be both demographically and geographically the heartland of football in the West,” he said.
“We want to talk to other members of the broader community to get their thoughts as well.”
Wyndham is currently the fastest growing Local Government Area in Victoria.
The population is expected to increase substantially over the coming decade.
The Tigers have already received $700,000 from the State Government through Sport and Recreation Victoria and the AFL as part of its funding to celebrate 150 years of Australian Rules football.
That money, however, will need to be spent on existing projects, including an upgrade of the scoreboard, changing room extensions and improved spectator facilities.
“We need to cater for AFL patrons and AFL participants and we need to improve our standards to that level,” Mr Penaluna said.
The club had hoped to secure an additional grant of $500,000 in this year’s State budget but missed out.
At the time, club president John Nicol blasted the Government, claiming its allocation was the second-lowest grant of the eight allocated to VFL grounds across the state.
Last Modified on 07/07/2008 23:54