WAFL Grounds
- Thread starter Silent Alarm
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The_Reaper
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Both Freo and East Freo council might not exist for much longer.
Due to simple demographics I'd expect Melville to dominate both of them. Will be interesting.
- Jul 9, 2010
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- #28
The council reformations will be such a good thing for Perth.
I wonder if the inept, conservative egos at the head of Fremantle Council, who have stagnating that entire place, will leave their mark as losing the Dockers? I mean the chance of Freo taking off was always likely, but the restrictions placed on Fremantle Oval was absolutely chastising any realistic possibility of growth and thus staying put. Will the new Fremantle Council be a bit more wiser? Will they be more progressive?
Hopefully it frees up some money to help out East Freo Oval. Fremantle Oval is in alright knick at the moment, in comparison to the other venues. Considering how varied the use is and how varied the demands are, there's a good chance it could become a bit of a hub. Arden Street Oval has community facilities right behind the city-end goals. The Hawks, Bullies, and Saints all have their spaces open to the public as well. It's a nice compromise where most parties get a majority of what they're after.
Anyway, another ground... Lathlain. I went once last year as my uni was giving away free tickets. Specifically for international students wanting to see Aussie Rules without the $60 AFL tickets. I thought it had a heap of potential. It's surrounded by houses and middle class suburbia. So free land space is always a plus. There's a bit of space around, especially at the southern wing where a massive carpark sits (maybe with too many spaces). But the ground is really weird... the boxes and facilities seem like they could be a bit modern and still useable, but the cream brick is awful with a capital everything and the mural is so, so tacky. Is it due for a reno? I didn't suss it out much as a game was on and Souths were playing. I'm just curious.
Im sorry S.A but not 1 cent should be spent on EF Oval as it is the worst ground in the WAFL (the only WAFL ground not serviced by a railway line/station) & EF should move back to Fremantle Oval & share the ground with SF like they used to before WW2 especially with the Dockers moving out to Cockburn Central in 2016!
Grand rationalisation makes sense for those 2 clubs who are only a couple of kms apart in distance!
Bacon Warrior
D10
Disagree. All WAFL clubs should have their own ground. I'm still not a fan of East Perth & Subi sharing Leedy Oval.
- Jul 9, 2010
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- #32
Fair enough. But there's a reason East Fremantle Oval is so bad – because it needs an upgrade.
Aside from East Fremantle games every fortnight for half the year, the people who use the oval are locals. They walk down, use the barbies, and run some laps down there. They don't need a train or bus. I think it should be opened up like Victoria Park, but only because I think that's the best history v modernity, community v club facility I've ever seen.
I do agree with this - or at the very least they should have separate training venues. WAFL clubs need to know their role - which is predominantly football development. For players, particularly under 18's, travelling long distances just to train is a blocker for the game. And unfortunately years of malaise has resulted in massive parts of Perth (that mostly didn't exist 30 years ago) nowhere near a WAFL ground. Admittedly the zoning doesn't help. I heard a story about how they gave Lockridge to East Perth, so a couple of players that used to train with the Swans down the road had to move. They told them to stick it because they didn't want to make the 45 minute each way trip to training.
East Fremantle really should be based around where the proposed FFC home is going to be. Perth should be out near Canning vale/Thornlie, and Subiaco should be somewhere in the Northern corridor. I'd be inclined to at least set up a colts team (along with the other underage structures) in Bunbury as well.
In an ideal world BW I would too but unfortunately it is just not financially viable for WAFL clubs these days especially those inner city clubs. It is very expensive to maintain a WAFL ground these days where in almost all cases (bar the WAFC's lovechild Peel & Leederville Oval) the facilities havent been upgraded since before the WCE inception in 87 because of a lack of funds!
The_Reaper
Hall of Famer
Viewing from afar so many posters are not familiar with, or simply ignore financially viable.
- Jul 9, 2010
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- #37
The Leeming area has been a good breeding ground for footy, purely through the demographic. Although guys like Marco Papparone are actually from Fremantle, most guys aren't. And realistically, that corridor is so untapped and screaming out for Souths and Old Easts to be further apart. What about Murdoch Uni? Could they share a main oval, maybe near the Bibra Lake part of the campus? Or is that infringing on South Freo's territory?
I think Perth are in a good hub of suburbia. They get from the airport to Cannington, and the river to Lesmurdie way. Laithlan is a good centre point. Or is that getting too close to Bassendean?
West Perth are fine. In fact, that Joondalup area is probably the most untouched and vast besides maybe Peel's. They're happy.
East Perth or Subiaco could find a place in Balcatta/Stirling.
Removing that zone would be like pulling teeth. How many country areas are better than that? Albany would come close. I think it'd have some teething problems because 17/18 is the age where some kids want nothing more than to leave Bunbury. That's not going to be every single kid, but how many year 12s students can go to Perth every second weekend? There are plenty of precious pies who won't want to go to Perth to probably get flogged.
The_Reaper
Hall of Famer
Geraldton is probably comparable as a zone.
Per capita I wouldn't be suprised if it were currently the best Australian town > 10,000
So I visited my friends today that live on Allen St overlooking East Freo Oval. The EFFC want to develop the Marmion St side and Allen St side of the oval by moving the boundaries of the oval in and selling for residential development. That would mean my friends who bought the house for a substantial sum opposite an A Class Reserve would now not be living opposite an A Class Reserve. The major issue is that A Class Reserves are protected from housing - Kings Park would not be the same if houses started popping up ! So the land would have to be re zoned which many think will be the thin edge of the wedge. Also, the land is owned by the State Government but the EFFC want to sell the land that is not theirs to fund the redevelopment of their facilities. My friend is a member of East Freo while his wife is a Souths member.
We're talking about the best kids here, it's not going to be a bushleague team. I'm not sure a 2 hour bus ride would be that much of a problem given the South West League players would occasionally travel an hour to away games.
But the reason I say Bunbury is that it appears to have the population. 80k in Bunbury, another 35k in Busselton, plus another 40k in the surrounding areas. And importantly, it's growing rapidly. It would be a shame to see decent kids lost to the game at a high level because they had to move to Perth, because Bunbury is big enough that they shouldn't have to.
And in all seriousness, whether a club from 200km away has a cry about losing their zone really should be irrelevant to the decision.
Bit late on the discussion, but i have to agree, all WAFL clubs should have their own ground, ground rationlisation does not make football sense at WAFL level ( grass roots/community football)
- Jul 9, 2010
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- #42
WAFL grounds should be community-oriented. East Fremantle Oval is hugely popular with the people who live there. That place is decrepit and needs to be ripped down and its 'point' completely reevaluated. Put barbecues up, walking paths around, those outdoor gyms, and keep the footy facilities to a single grandstand with everything it needs inside it.
Clubs currently sharing should move out and make the most of government, community funds and grants. It'll end up benefitting the club itself, realigning them with a fresh zone of untapped interest. If you're smart about it, the ones who follow will continue to follow. And the small number of dedicated, week-in week-out WAFL followers will probably keep supporting their sides.
I am going to try and get out there in the next couple of weeks and get some shots of the ground, stands etc.
Agree with what you say, but without a fence around it, how will they charge an entrance fee ?.
- Jul 9, 2010
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- #44
Erect a fence with gates and close it only during game day?
Yeah at Victoria Park they have a permit from the council to erect a temporary fence two hours either side of the game.
Ok, sounds fair enough to me, can't say that voluteers will be happy about it, unless the council puts its hand up.
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- #47
Same happens with Unley Oval in the SANFL - only the perimeter fencing is also temporary, and it's costs Sturt a fortune each match day in set up costs.
hitthepost
Norm Smith Medallist
So who plays footy at the WACA thesedays?
Bacon Warrior
D10
They might hold the odd match there (my nephew's team played there last year), but I think it's a training venue for interstate clubs.
So who plays footy at the WACA thesedays?
