Realignment of Footscray Park soccer pitches unlikely to appease protesters

Staunch opponents of Melbourne Victory’s soccer academy in Footscray Park have been offered an olive branch. What do you think about the plan?

Melbourne Victory CEO Trent Jacobs says he is willing to realign the soccer pitches to create more passive space under the Footscray Park masterplan.

A realignment of soccer pitches in the Footscray Park masterplan has been floated as a possible solution to the staunch opposition to Melbourne Victory moving into Footscray Park.

Melbourne Victory soccer club chief executive Trent Jacobs told the Leader that he had drawn up plans with a different alignment of the three soccer pitches to create more space for the public when the pitches were being used.

The plan to have Melbourne Victory build a female and junior academy with three playing fields on the western lawn area of Footscray Park has led to a fight between local residents and the council, with opponents to the plan saying one of the largest pieces of open space in the City of Maribyrnong should not be privatised.

The realignment of soccer pitches would free up more space to be used as passive space.

Melbourne Victory would have a 21-year lease over Footscray Park and would pay upwards of $100,000 a year to maintain the grounds, rather than pay rent.

Hundreds of people gathered at Victoria University earlier this month to ask questions about Melbourne Victory’s plan.

One of the chief issues from people opposed to Victory moving in was the loss of passive open space.

Footscray Park protesters chanted and held signs at a Maribyrnong Council meeting last month.

The entire park is roughly 56,000sq m, the academy building would take up 4000sq m and Mr Jacobs said a reconfiguration of the pitches would allow 11,000sq m to be open public space — 1000sq m larger than an international rugby field.

Mr Jacobs said the plans were not set in stone and he wanted to work with the community to come up with a plan that worked for everyone.

“We are willing to listen and come up with the best solution and create a vibrant park,” he said.

Footscray Park protesters

Melbourne Victory received a $10 million grant from the state government to build the academy but it’s not known what will happen to the funding if the plan is voted down by councillors next week.

Government spokesman Shaun Phillips said “it would be inappropriate to speculate on an outcome ahead of a decision being made”.

“All planning matters of this nature go through detailed processes and community feedback is an important part of this. This is an opportunity for residents to have their say on what is a significant proposal,” Mr Phillips said.

The acacdemy could create a pathway for girls such as Maribyrnong Swifts Football Club players Klara Steenberg, Chloe Liberto, and Matilda Steenberg to progress in soccer.

Those who attended the meeting earlier this month, or watched the live stream of the event, have criticised members of the Save Footscray Park group for being so vehemently opposed to the plan they drowned out councillors and Victory’s Mr Jacobs from answering questions.

The meeting became a shouting match when councillors tried to answer at least 100 questions from the public.

The Save Footscray Park group have accused Melbourne Victory and Maribyrnong Council of having already made up their minds and leaving community consultation too late.

Member Gemma Cafarella has said previously she is not against expanding sporting opportunities in the west, but wants the pitches and academy built somewhere else.

“This is an icon of Footscray used by people right across the west; Kensington, Flemington, Yarraville, because there’s nowhere else to go,” she said.

Angela Liberto has started a petition in support of Melbourne Victory’s academy, and said she did not believe residents would lose open space.

“This part of Footscray isn’t in use and providing a sports academy with after hours community use is a great investment for the western suburbs,” the petition said.

Mr Jacobs said the exact time of day the pitches would be used was “difficult to answer”.

“Most training will happen in the evening including community programs for kids and women,” he said.

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“We think at a maximum we will use the pitches for 38 hours a week and probably not all the pitches at one time. They would be open to the public for 60 hours a week.”

He said during winter about seven teams would be training on the grounds, but this would drop to three teams in summer.

“The park is under-utilised. There are parts where you can’t grow grass because of the salt content. We want to design a space people can actually use,” he said.

Melbourne Victory has also struck up a partnership with Victoria University, with the club taking on sports medicine students throughout the year to provide experience and career pathways.

Melbourne Water has approved the plans in principle but will also need to sign off on the final plan to make sure the flood plain is not adversely impacted.

Mr Jacobs said Footscray Park was chosen because it was close to public transport, parking, and Victoria University, which established a five-year partnership with Melbourne Victory after the feasibility study has been finalised.

Maribyrnong Councillors will vote on the plan next week.

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