Liberals promise funds for AJAX amateurs’ sporting upgrade in Albert Park if re-elected

AJAX seniors have been promised $200,000 toward a home ground upgrade at Albert Park if the Liberals are re-elected.

Sporting Ground Allocation Uproar. Ian Fayman (L) is the president of the AJAX Senior Football Club. The club has been controversially overlooked for ground allocation for seniors at Princes Park, Caulfield. He's very upset because the juniors have been playing there for 20 years while his seniors have to train/play at Albert Park outside Glen Eira! All they want is to be united in their heartland. Pictured is L to R Ian Fayman and Eugene Routman

AJAX Amateur Football Club has secured an election promise of $200,000 towards an upgrade at its Albert Park home ground but the club’s desire to unite with juniors in Caulfield South remains unchanged.

Caulfield MP David Southwick and Albert Park Liberal candidate Shannon Eeles have promised the money if the Napthine Government is re-elected.

The seniors want to ­upgrade and extend the David Mandie Pavilion to create a multi-use, undercover sporting complex that would also be used by the wider community including other sporting clubs.

Ms Eeles said the planned upgrade would “give Albert Park and Caulfield residents a state-of-the-art sporting ­facility for everyone to use”.

The AJAX juniors have trained and played at Princes Park in Caulfield South for two decades, while the seniors train and play in ­Albert Park.

Glen Eira Council has ­refused to give the seniors ground allocation at Princes Park under a sports ground management policy adopted in late 2013 that favours clubs already holding seasonal allocations.

AJAX senior and junior divisions officially merged to become the AJAX Football Club Victoria on April 1, 2014, with a message from inaugural vice president Ronnie Lewis that: “Ideally, we would like to see our senior division join the juniors at the one location in South Caulfield”.

Mr Lewis, who is also the seniors’ president, said the election promise was great news but the desire for unity had not changed.