Western Bulldogs plan redevelopment of Whitten Oval precinct

The Western Bulldogs want to turn the Western Oval precinct into a ‘Mecca’ for AFLW football as they work on ambitious plans for a new $16 million parcel of land.

Fans watch an AFLW game at Whitten Oval. Picture: Rob Leeson.

The Western Bulldogs want to turn the Western Oval precinct into a “Mecca” for AFLW football as they work on ambitious plans for a new $16 million parcel of land.

The Dogs last week declared a profit of $18.04 million after being handed control of the parcel of land adjoining their current facility by the state government.

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The club plans to redevelop the land with commercial ventures and will soon release a master plan for an area including Whitten Oval and the Western Oval precinct.

The Dogs will soon sell their entire investment in poker machines and will need to replace the $1.6 million profit the club makes annually from those machines.

But with its small level of strategic debt offset by $7.9 million in cash reserves, the Dogs have never been in a stronger financial position.

Fans get behind the Bulldogs AFLW team. Picture: Rob Leeson

The club writes in its director’s report that bringing fans back to the club to watch big games is part of the plan to continue boosting profits.

“Big-time football matches and spectating are coming back to our historic Western Oval. We hope to share our initial master plan ideas with our members soon.

“The new Western Oval will be a mecca for AFLW football. It will provide a new, warm and very West Footscray way to come together with your fellow Bulldogs and support our teams. “It will be exciting. It’s the most ambitious project in our history.

“It will be necessary for the club to work hard to replace and build on these revenues.

“The club’s strategy is to leverage the redevelopment of the Western Oval precinct to create commercial opportunities which complement the healthy and community-orientated use of our home ground.”

The Dogs apologised to fans for “substandard” arrangements at its Ballarat home games after they played a late July game against Port Adelaide in near-dark given poor lighting,

“The Ballarat commitment has added many millions to our revenues since it began and it is a cornerstone to the productive and mutually beneficial relationship we enjoy with Daniel Andrews’ Victorian Government, both as to Ballarat and to the Whitten Oval,’’ the club wrote.

“That said, we acknowledge that Mars Stadium needs development to cope with the days of inclement weather which will inevitably occur in the Ballarat winter.

“We apologise to our members that arrangements were substandard for game days in 2018 and we thank the Andrews Government for its recent $12,000,000 commitment to improving amenities for future match days.”