Vandals destroy Kingborough United Football Club’s Lightwood Park pitch
With soccer grounds at a premium — one Tassie club has been hit with a massive disruption as games are coming thick and fast after “idiots” vandalise a key facility.
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A southern Tasmanian soccer club has been thrown into chaos in the middle of the season after “idiots” vandalised a key pitch.
The lower pitch at Lightwood Park, used by Kingborough United Football Club, is out of action after hoons tore up the ground making it unplayable.
Tasmania Police confirmed they were investigating reports of the oval area being damaged overnight by a vehicle.
The club suspected the vandals attempted to get on Twin Ovals and another pitch in the Kingborough precinct before finally gaining access to Lightwood Park 3.
Club president Brian Downes said it looked like “idiots” had driven two cars through the ground — striking it out for training and games in the near future.
“We’re already at a premium and need more grounds and this is totally disruptive,” he said.
The end of daylight savings and darker, colder evenings are also placing a strain on the club experiencing record number of juniors, youths and social players this year.
The torn up oval was one of the limited options the club has with access to lights.
“For a community club, it’s quite distressing. The council do a great job of looking after the ground and idiots then go and drive cars all through the oval,” Mr Downes said.
“It’s sad for the community. We’ve got to protect our precinct.”
It’s not the first time the club has experienced vandalism of its pitch. A motorbike damaged the ground before recent new upgrades were finished.
Mr Downes said the most recent attack was much worse.
“This time it looks like two cars,” he said.
“All it takes is someone to do something stupid like this and it ruins it for everyone.”
He confirmed it would disrupt a “very packed” schedule of games and training at the ground, including visiting teams youth teams.
NPL coach Jon Fenech is three months into the top job at the club and was inspecting the “needless and thoughtless vandalism” on Tuesday.
He expected the impact would be felt by volunteers and young players for some time, estimating it would take a few weeks for the ground to recover.
“We’re all about providing good supportive facilities to the community, and this ground is a key part in that,” Mr Fenech said.
“It’s going to place pressure on all the other pitches and have a knock on effect.
“I feel really sorry for the volunteers and kids who play on it.”
He said his phone had been ringing “off the hook” with people asking how they could help.
“Once again we’ll pull together and get on with it.”
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