The AFL could build two new football ovals in the centre of Moonee Valley racecourse under a long-term lease agreement that would help the league keep up with football’s growing demands.
But the proposal to build grounds inside the Cox Plate track as part of a major redevelopment is just one of many options being considered by the Moonee Valley Racing Club.
Moonee Valley Racing Club chief executive Michael Browell is excited about the potential to develop the track’s infield for sports such as football.Credit: Joe Armao
AFL heavyweights have also expressed an interest in building change room facilities in the centre of the racecourse.
Such a development could provide a high-performance centre for umpires, act as a training base for visiting interstate teams and help service football’s growing demands at suburban level.
Several sporting organisations – including soccer, rugby and a golf driving range company – were all looking to lodge submissions with Moonee Valley Racing Club as part of an expression of interest process to utilise the course’s infield. Submissions closed last Friday.
“We have had good dialogue with all the key sporting bodies, and a few private operators,” Moonee Valley Racing Club chief executive Michael Browell told this masthead.
Potential plans for the racecourse redevelopment.Credit: Moonee Valley Racing Club
Browell confirmed that the AFL had conducted several site visits at the track.
“But we are just going to work through what all the options are,” he said.
“This is only the first step, there will be a lot more detailed work undertaken to see what we can accommodate, and the commercial model that sits behind it.”
Moonee Valley is closing its course for 18 months after next year’s October Cox Plate as part of a complete overhaul, a master plan that includes redesigning the track and moving the home straight, building a four-level clubhouse and grand stand and using the infield as a recreational zone.
AFL umpires have struggled to find access to a regular training ground.Credit: Getty Images
The new-look infield is expected to include tie-up stalls and parking for horse floats, as well as community sporting facilities. There would be room for one full-sized football ground and a smaller secondary oval
“It will end up being a jigsaw puzzle, to see how we can put it all together,” Browell said.
“There are three components to it – what’s the capital investment a code is willing to make to install a facility, what’s the ongoing requirements around maintenance and what’s the long-term lease agreement look like between the club and the code.
“I am pretty confident that there will be some exciting bids submitted.”
AFL head of umpiring Steve McBurney told 3AW last week that there was a lot of work being done on seeking training options for umpires.
He said the umpires’ access to the review centre at Marvel Stadium was as “good a coaching and learning facility as there has been at any stage of my umpiring career”.
“The problem is getting a training venue they can actually run on and do their training on,” McBurney said.
“Now, that’s not such an issue for the field umpires because they’ve all got their GPSs, and they do the majority of their training in their own time under supervision from our training lead.
“But we do need a venue, and we struggle to get full access to Marvel because of the ground maintenance issues. That’s being addressed.”
McBurney said the problem for umpires had always been that they could not get access to football grounds because they were used by football teams for training.
“[AFL football operations executive] Laura Kane has absolutely committed to us finding, building, funding – whatever it takes – appropriate facilities for the umpires,” McBurney said.
“We are just working through exactly what that looks like.”
While the AFL would not comment on the specifics of its interest in the Moonee Valley infield, a league spokesperson said the league was constantly looking to develop new grounds.
“To keep up with our rising participation rates and growth of the game at all levels, we need an oval a week, every week for the next five years and are always actively working with all levels of government and private industry to identify new sites for community football ovals and facilities,” an AFL spokesperson said.
If football facilities were built at a new-look Moonee Valley, it would be an ideal hub for visiting interstate teams, providing them with access to a training ground, a gymnasium and health-and-well-being services, as well as a hotel.
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