Jessica Adamson: It’s time to bring footy to Victoria Park
With a critical sporting shortfall across Adelaide, we need to reconsider Victoria Park, writes Jessica Adamson.
Opinion
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Victoria Park racecourse, in the heart of Adelaide, means many things to many people.
It’s the people’s park – where we run, cycle, walk the dog, teach our kids to ride bikes, hear the roar of V8s, drink coffee, fly a kite, pedal a solar car, trial horses, launch a remote-controlled plane, have a Covid test or two, and play cricket, soccer and polo.
In days gone by it has been home to the F1 Grand Prix and the Adelaide Racing Club. When Jack McGowan rode Jack Spratt home in the 1895 Grand National Hurdle the heritage grandstand was rocking.
And now that beautiful grandstand, which sits empty most days, may soon be rocking again.
For the first time in our state’s history, we could be watching a football game there. The Norwood Football Club has a bold and brilliant plan to see men’s, women’s and junior footy played at Vic Park, possibly as early as next year.
When the Adelaide City Council called for submissions on the use of the space, Norwood stepped up, outlining its vision to have a second oval, preferably right in front of the grandstand. They’re proposing a 150m x 110m oval with no fence, although they’re happy to put one up if need be. The plan would see goalposts, ball nets and a scoreboard added, and some non-bitumen paths removed. But the existing lights, toilets and change rooms in the grandstand would be used.
How good would it be to watch footy at Victoria Park?
I’ll admit I’m a little biased, my blood ran red and blue through my childhood. I grew up wearing a number eight Michael Aish guernsey.
But this proposal is bigger than football. It cuts to the heart of creating a vibrant, healthy and engaged community.
Why the bold plan? Because of the critical shortfall of ovals in the metropolitan area. That shortage has come about because of the explosion of women’s footy in South Australia – and that is the most wonderful problem to have.
Never before have our ovals seen so much traffic.
This season more than 53,000 girls and boys, men and women played footy in SA. There are 299 playing fields across the state which makes for a pretty tight squeeze. At some clubs there are six teams training on one oval at the same time and all you hear is “HEADS!”
Volunteers have spent thousands of hours in recent weeks, poring over spreadsheets and city maps in a desperate mission to find grounds to train and play on. The wetter than normal August we’ve had has created chaos and concern for player safety.
As the rain came down, our ovals opened up. Mud patches that were 2m in diameter widened to 10m.
At the Houghton Districts Football Club there was barely a blade of grass in sight – footy’s never going to be the winner in those conditions. At our local club, Goodwood Saints, staff and volunteers were soaking up water with sheets and trying to dry it off with blower vacs. The perfect storm of a sodden oval and 22 teams wanting to play on it was too much.
Training sessions were moved and some home finals were played away. It’s cost the club thousands to use alternative grounds. A Crows AFLW trial game was bumped from Norwood Oval to West Lakes at the last minute – and Friday night’s grand final rematch against Melbourne was relocated to Glenelg Oval. For a club like Norwood, that’s an economic hit – they rely on playing footy.
Their oval is played on 46 weeks of the year. It’s used four nights a week for training and for 150 or so games throughout the season. Like most other clubs, it’s now impossible for them to fit their 440-plus players onto one ground. It’s no wonder the SANFL have put together a program to urgently identify a second ground for each club.
They’re looking to activate at least another 20 ovals during the next 10 years in our parklands and at our schools. SANFL’s Belinda Marsh agrees it’s a great problem to have, but one that needs to be addressed as a priority. Her mission is to help identify underused space and activate the sites for a long tenure.
The SA Jockey Club has revealed it wants to build two football ovals in the middle of Morphettville racecourse – an arrangement that could potentially be shared between Glenelg Football Club, Plympton, Morphettville Park and PHOS Camden.
Schools like Cardijn College, Playford International College and Urrbrae Agricultural High are in the mix, along with patches of our green space, like Park 21 on Greenhill Rd.
It won’t be cheap – setting up a second ground in the parklands will be a million-dollar outlay taking in lights, electricity, clubrooms, shelter and toilets. Putting up lights at the chosen schools so those ovals can be used after hours is a $350,000 investment.
The Adelaide Parklands Association isn’t opposed to the plans – as long as facilities can be used by everyone. The SANFL is working with the clubs, the Education Department, the AFL and three tiers of government to make it happen.
And while it needs to be a shared funding arrangement, it’s vital that governments get behind this movement and invest in the continued growth of local footy.
We’re seeing more mental health issues in our children than ever before and we know team sport is one of the best things they can do. Build it, and they will come.
Adelaide Football Club is doing just that. Its announcement last week that Thebarton may be the new home for the Crows comes with the promise of two ovals, one that will be built, as part of the development.
Chairman John Olsen says the significant community green space will be open to the public, and it’s hoped the ovals will help alleviate pressure on community teams.
“We are well aware of the responsibility that comes with being the state’s biggest sporting club and we want our new world class facility to benefit as many people as possible,” he says.
Norwood Football Club chief executive James Fantasia says its Victoria Park plan is also inclusive.
“It’s not about ownership or making this exclusive to footy, that’s not our desire,” he says. “We’re happy to share it with other sports.
“It’s an amazing asset, why aren’t we using it? We’re super excited.”
So am I. It might just be time to get the number eight guernsey out again.
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