Bayside Council bans permanent advertising at Cheltenham reserve

A SPORTS club says it is being forced to put out temporary signs at its Cheltenham ground every weekend after the council banned permanent advertising, putting thousands of dollars of sponsorship at risk.

CHELTENHAM Football Netball Club could lose up to $60,000 in vital sponsorship revenue after Bayside Council enacted a dormant bylaw banning permanent advertising around Jack Barker Reserve.

The council moved to ban permanent advertising after it installed new fencing around the Cheltenham reserve in March.

Existing sponsorship deals made before the start of the 2018 season are still being honoured with the club using precious volunteer manpower to hang and remove temporary signing before and after games.

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Club president John Graham said having to put up temporary advertising for each game created “lots of headaches”.

He also feared existing sponsors would abandon the club at the end of the season making it “incredibly difficult to operate”.

“No permanent advertising means it’s going to be a lot harder to sell sponsorship at the end of the season, it’s as simple as that,” Mr Graham said.

“We’re talking about $60,000, which is the money we need for operating costs.”

According to Mr Graham, the club uses the bulk of its advertising revenue to pay for ground hire (to the council), equipment, medical staff, player registrations and match payments to senior players.

“We have to pay players just to remain competitive,” Mr Graham said.

“The council have been trying to take the signs down for years and they finally got their wish but the law seems ridiculous as other grounds are allowed permanent advertising.”

Trevor Barker Beach Oval, home ground of VFL club Sandringham Dragons, is still allowed permanent advertising.

In the meantime, Mr Graham has welcomed a promise by Liberal candidate for Sandringham Brad Rowswell to install a $50,000 electronic scoreboard at the oval if his party wins the next election.

“We will be able to bring in more revenue than we do now if this scoreboard is installed,” Mr Graham said.

“I’m grateful to Brad Rowswell for making this commitment and look forward to working with him in the future.”

Mr Rowswell said the commitment “will ensure the viability of the Cheltenham Football Netball Club for many years to come”.