Western Bulldogs restrict Whitten Oval public use during coronavirus while footy players interstate

The Bulldogs have been accused of “lunacy” after denying extended public access to its West Footscray homeground, despite being interstate and the community stuck to a 5km fitness radius.

Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge at Whitten Oval. Picture: Michael Klein

The Western Bulldogs have dug in their heels on restricting public access to their home turf at Whitten Oval while the team plays interstate.

Members of the public can only use the Bulldog’s West Footscray home ground between 7am to 1pm on weekdays during the Stage 4 lockdown, despite the team being based in Queensland for the rest of the football season.

A Bulldogs spokesperson told Maribyrnong Council the restricted hours were due to staffing issues, according to a statement provided by the council.

But Maribyrnong’s Anthony Laughton said it was “lunacy” to close the ground when the team wasn’t using it, particularly when opening hours at other AFL teams’ home grounds such as Victoria Park and Windy Hill appeared unaffected.

Exercise is one of the few reasons Melburnians are permitted to leave the house, Mr Laughton said.

And with at least two weeks — or possibly longer — of the state’s tough Stage 4 lockdown to go, he said it was only fair to extend the operating hours to give people some relief.

“You’re still talking about times of the day when people are working … it’s just got this image problem of being a little bit closed shop,” Mr Laughton said.

“It’s great that it’s open, you’d just like to see it available during those peak times.

“Surely this is where these venues can really give the community a sense of solace.”

Melburnians have endured almost five months of lockdown since late March, with freedoms wound back even further since August 2.

People can only leave their homes to shop for food, to seek medical treatment, to exercise and to work if it can’t be done from home.

Masks must also be worn at all times when in public.

Maribyrnong Council chief executive Stephen Wall said the council would continue to work with the Bulldogs to try to find an alternative to the current opening hours.

In a statement provided to the Leader the football club noted the oval was previously closed to the public to reduce the risk of players and staff being infected by the coronavirus.

The oval was opened for community use shortly after the club moved to Queensland, the statement read, but the club’s skeleton staff was unable keep up with cleaning requirements if the ground was open all day and on weekends.

The statement noted the club would continue to review the situation with Maribyrnong Council in line with changes to the state’s lockdown rules.

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