Whitten Oval set to be revived

[Teen Wolf]

to be used by whom? e gate is not exactly in an area begging for community use

also running tracks on foot ovals is sh*t - dont repeat the mistakes of the gabba and the greyhound track

Even though you've said "e gate" about 100 times, I haven't said it once.

Not that kind of running track...

 

[Ned_Flanders]

Even though you've said "e gate" about 100 times, I haven't said it once.

Not that kind of running track...

View attachment 1013001

You mean like the one planned for Marvel?

Reason I mention E gate is its the only space big enough for this kind of stadium.

Goschs only works as a training facility if Melbourne decide to go there.

 

[Teen Wolf]

You mean like the one planned for Marvel?

Reason I mention E gate is its the only space big enough for this kind of stadium.

Goschs only works as a training facility if Melbourne decide to go there.

The ground in Carlton, which I have mentioned about 100 times, is big enough. As is Whitten Oval (or so the Bulldogs say), for that matter. Instead of each of them getting $35m+, one (doesn't really bother me which) should be getting the lion's share of government funding ($70m and the other $5m, or something to that effect). Hope I've made my views clear on this by now.

 

[Ned_Flanders]

The ground in Carlton, which I have mentioned about 100 times, is big enough. As is Whitten Oval (or so the Bulldogs say), for that matter. Instead of each of them getting $35m+, one (doesn't really bother me which) should be getting the lion's share of government funding ($70m and the other $5m, or something to that effect). Hope I've made my views clear on this by now.

both of those have the dogs and blues and community groups at them. you want a stand alone on goschs, which is already used by the existing teams in that area for training.

its a 1000% smarter move to make western oval and PP better facilities than to build one from new

 

[Teen Wolf]

both of those have the dogs and blues and community groups at them. you want a stand alone on goschs, which is already used by the existing teams in that area for training.

its a 1000% smarter move to make western oval and PP better facilities than to build one from new

Lol I'm well aware of the reasons why a new eight hundred billion dollar venue at Gosch's Paddock, which should obviously not have been taken as a serious suggestion, won't happen (though apparently you aren't).

 

[Ned_Flanders]

Lol I'm well aware of the reasons why a new eight hundred billion dollar venue at Gosch's Paddock, which should obviously not have been taken as a serious suggestion, won't happen (though apparently you aren't).

its a net discussion, everything here is hypothetical

 

[Pykie]

State Government announces funding boost for Bulldogs’ redevelopment

The Daniel Andrews State Government has announced it will allocate $36.6 million towards the Whitten Oval precinct redevelopment.

www.westernbulldogs.com.au

$36.6 million on its way from the Victorian government. That's the same amount Princes Park is getting from the state and Fed govs combined, I don't get it. Neither are my dream option (an eight hundred billion dollar stadium in Gosch's Paddock), take what you can get though.

Its going to be interesting to see what Arden St ends up with over the next 12 months. $7.3m today from the state government separate to what the Feds and State Govt are going to unload on the area and the ground as part of the multi $B Arden precinct development announcements early next year.

i dunno if they will go as far as stands, but they’ve acquired land all over the area and there’s a shiny new $300m train station directly beneath the ground.

 

[Freshwater]

The ground in Carlton, which I have mentioned about 100 times, is big enough. As is Whitten Oval (or so the Bulldogs say), for that matter. Instead of each of them getting $35m+, one (doesn't really bother me which) should be getting the lion's share of government funding ($70m and the other $5m, or something to that effect). Hope I've made my views clear on this by now.

In using them for AFL that suggestion would make sense. But for training and VFL and AFLW it doesn’t. And you have two different geographical areas. Melbourne can’t be seen as homogeneous any more. It’s just too big and crowded. Too hard to get around now. We actually need to go back to our suburbs (tribes in football) as they will be satellite cities centres. A perfect place for a stadium would be in the Werribee corridor near a train line and freeway.

 

[Teen Wolf]

In using them for AFL that suggestion would make sense. But for training and VFL and AFLW it doesn’t. And you have two different geographical areas. Melbourne can’t be seen as homogeneous any more. It’s just too big and crowded. Too hard to get around now. We actually need to go back to our suburbs (tribes in football) as they will be satellite cities centres. A perfect place for a stadium would be in the Werribee corridor near a train line and freeway.

So why oh why oh why does it make sense to have the Melbourne Football Club playing home games in Cranbourne?

Geography and homogeneity has nothing to do with four clubs getting money to upgrade facilities in the past week.

 

[Freshwater]

So why oh why oh why does it make sense to have the Melbourne Football Club playing home games in Cranbourne?

Geography and homogeneity has nothing to do with four clubs getting money to upgrade facilities in the past week.

Melbourne play in Casey because they realise they need a geographical area to hopefully call their own. Historically as Melbourne metro has got bigger Melbourne FC has found that difficult. But the inner area has become densely populated in the last two decades. The Junction Oval would have been perfect. Fitzroy and South Melbourne suffered because they never had a vast suburban areas after WWII for their fans to spread out into. Football clubs are still clubs, not just ‘franchises’ and need a home base for supporters to call home. Where do the fans go after a premiership win? A spiritual home is still important.
And these investments are not just for footy, they add so much to their suburban areas. The people in the area not only use them but are proud that they are there still being used in their area.

 

[Teen Wolf]

Melbourne play in Casey because they realise they need a geographical area to hopefully call their own. Historically as Melbourne metro has got bigger Melbourne FC has found that difficult. But the inner area has become densely populated in the last two decades. The Junction Oval would have been perfect. Fitzroy and South Melbourne suffered because they never had a vast suburban areas after WWII for their fans to spread out into. Football clubs are still clubs, not just ‘franchises’ and need a home base for supporters to call home. Where do the fans go after a premiership win? A spiritual home is still important.
And these investments are not just for footy, they add so much to their suburban areas. The people in the area not only use them but are proud that they are there still being used in their area.

Well you've just proven my point. Turns out it is possible to have your training, admin and spiritual home in one (or more) place(s) and host fixtures in some hole 50km away. So the Bulldogs don't need to be playing regular AFLW games at Whitten Oval, after all.

It seems like you think you're responding to somebody who's advocating for the decimation of traditional VFL venues, or who doesn't know there's always a good-for-the-community aspect attached to government funding.

 

[Freshwater]

Well you've just proven my point. Turns out it is possible to have your training, admin and spiritual home in one (or more) place(s) and host fixtures in some hole 50km away. So the Bulldogs don't need to be playing regular AFLW games at Whitten Oval, after all.

It seems like you think you're responding to somebody who's advocating for the decimation of traditional VFL venues, or who doesn't know there's always a good-for-the-community aspect attached to government funding.

Bulldogs home games at the Whitten oval have been magnificent and part of what propelled AFLW into being. I was there on that historic night when the last exhibition game was played between the Demons and Dogs, and part of the great atmosphere was that it was at such a great old venue, with such a rich history. I would not have gone to Pricess Park, too far from the Western side of town. Don’t under estimate history and geography.

 

[Teen Wolf]

Bulldogs home games at the Whitten oval have been magnificent and part of what propelled AFLW into being. I was there on that historic night when the last exhibition game was played between the Demons and Dogs, and part of the great atmosphere was that it was at such a great old venue, with such a rich history.

That's a fine argument to continue playing the occasional game there and not needing to change much about the great old venue. It isn't a $35m~ argument, in my estimation.

I would not have gone to Pricess Park, too far from the Western side of town.

Presumably you've gladly visited the MCG on many occasions though. Worth the trip when it's a world class venue, ain't it.

Don’t under estimate history and geography.

Both things have a lot to say about how an aspiring professional national competition can maximise its potential by recognising the limited viability of suburban VFL venues.

 

[Here we go dogs]

Hi all,

Does anyone know what consultants have been engaged for the first stage?

Obviously a architect and town planner are onboard.

 

[Roogal]

Btw, has anyone ever stayed at the Palms Motel? It is within walking distance of Whitten Oval. I don't know whether it has been renovated recently. I stayed there in January 2011 and it looked like something out of the 1950s. The rooms were scary too - I had to sleep with the lights and TV switched on!

Oh God, now you are scaring me we stayed there in 1973. It was orange brick and even had its own restaurant back then.

 

[Roogal]

Pictures of Whitten Oval, taken January 2011. I guess I found that officious looking sign somewhat humorous (yes they were simpler times).

Well they do have signs around Ballarat's Mars Stadium that clearly state that "No Dogs are Allowed on the Oval"

 

[Roogal]

Hi all,

Does anyone know what consultants have been engaged for the first stage?

Obviously a architect and town planner are onboard.

Tha probably would have been "Populous", they are mainly commissioned to do feasibility planning and design concepts.

 

[Roogal]

Yeah, just going by the photo in the OP alone, you can see there'd be no room to accomodate the volume of cars, either parking or passing through. Even public transport would be a bit of a mess, and would create a huge volume of foot traffic too.

I don't think it's really feasable to have the suburban Victorian grounds functional like they once were in today's environment. People might go once for the novelty, but it's be a pain to do as a regular thing.

On the subject of driving and parking anywhere in Melbourne these days, local councils have deliberately turned most of the city's once wide, inter-connected and expansive streets into narrow and often dead end culdesacs in order to restrict all traffic movement to key roads and arterials. This would make any attempt to drive to and park near many of the old home grouds almost impossible in this day and age. We need look no further than the city itself and the latest plans to cede all parking along St Kilda Road and one traffic lane to create new super bike lanes with a 1.5 metre buffer zone between the bike lane and the one remaining traffic lane. And the City Councillors are actually wondering why office workers and shoppers aren't keen to go back into city. They honestly don't understand how they are choking the life out of zones that were once the beating heart of the city and its suburbs.

 

[Roogal]

So you aren't paying attention, after all. Melbourne clubs actually are building what they want, and the government actually is paying for it.

This latest chunk of funding is predominantly for TV broadcast lighting, a new grandstand and pavilion, reconfigured playing field... you know, real community-oriented stuff.

As far as training facilities for female participation goes, that's what the $5m in 2018 was for. Every dollar thereafter is just making the ground a competitor to Ikon Park, which I thought was getting so much money because it's supposed to be the home of AFLW. Hope you're happy: instead of one white elephant, now there'll be two.

All the AFL teams in Melbourne are demanding big. Consider the millions spent shifting Olympic Park to create the new facilities for Collingwood, the tens of millions spent at RSEA Park for Saint Kilda, the $24 million spent so far to develop Casey Fields for Melbourne, Hawthorn's demands to create a $150 mil new football suburb in Dingley, and the $22 mil about to be spent at Punt Road. All of that on top of a new $90 mil grandstand for Geelong. It seems that North's big $80+ mil ambitions for Arden Street have some traction securing $7.3 mil recently. Nobody really knows what Essendon's long term plans or demends at Tullamarine will be. Perhaps they'll ask for $100 mil to move back to Windy Hill ... After all Dan Andrews is a "Needles" supporter.

 

[Roogal]

Its going to be interesting to see what Arden St ends up with over the next 12 months. $7.3m today from the state government separate to what the Feds and State Govt are going to unload on the area and the ground as part of the multi $B Arden precinct development announcements early next year.

i dunno if they will go as far as stands, but they’ve acquired land all over the area and there’s a shiny new $300m train station directly beneath the ground.

You won't get grandstands at Arden Street because there is quite simply no room. Arden Street can now only legally hold about 6000. They might eventually get some concreted standing terraces and some shade sails similar to Casey Fields. But the present funding that North Melbourne are seeking is to finance construction of a second training oval to the North West of the existing ground which would cost around $2.5 mil (Melbourne dollars) and a further $50-$70 mil (Melbourne dollars) to construct a new community sports centre immediately to the West of the existing NMFC HQ. The (unfunded) sports centre is proposed to contain basketball courts, strength and conditioning gyms, a 25m indoor heated pool, and a sports clinic.

Perhaps a 6000 capacity AFLW/VFL oval is realistic considering North Melbourne's limited support base of 36,000 members and 1300 AFLW members. It begs the question of whether the Western Bulldogs with only marginally higher membership numbers seriously need VU WO to hold any more than its current 10,000 capacity?

 

[JackFlash]

It would be great to see, let's hope they do the same at Princes Park? But i have one word to say about this proposal in 2021: Residents!

 

[CrazyJoeFevola]

It would be great to see, let's hope they do the same at Princes Park? But i have one word to say about this proposal in 2021: Residents!

If it weren't for the yuppie residents living in ex workers cottages who had all been in the area for a lot less time than our footy club we'd have a 42k stadium with lights and still be playing 8-9 games there a year as per the original plan.

 

[Johnny Bananas]

If it weren't for the yuppie residents living in ex workers cottages who had all been in the area for a lot less time than our footy club we'd have a 42k stadium with lights and still be playing 8-9 games there a year as per the original plan.

With what public transport? Trams won't suffice in the modern day.

 

[CrazyJoeFevola]

With what public transport? Trams won't suffice in the modern day.

Massive myth. Royal Park station is a 10-15 min walk and many, many people used to do it. Jewell just as close.

 

[Johnny Bananas]

Massive myth. Royal Park station is a 10-15 min walk and many, many people used to do it. Jewell just as close.

That's all well and good, but a crowd of 42 000 isn't going to clear quickly if they're relying on buses and trams, or walking for a kilometre or more to get to Royal Park station. While a journey like that is manageable for the able-bodied, special provision would need to be made for the elderly and disabled.