A FORTNIGHT ago, I stood on the hill overlooking the new Mildura Sporting Precinct premier oval to watch Mildura play South Mildura.
The pristine surface was every bit AFL standard, as is the temporary junior oval, and the new digital scoreboard is a winner, too.
In stark contrast, last weekend I watched a game at the dilapidated City Oval precinct on a field that resembled a cow paddock.
Think that’s an exaggeration, take a drive down Eleventh Street and look for yourself.
That the SFNL has chosen the old City Oval precinct to host this year’s SFNL Grand Final instead of our new $45 million facility in Mildura South continues to perplex many in the Sunraysia sporting community.
Fans standing in the outer on Saturday were chatting about it and shaking their heads. The comparison between the venues is chalk and cheese.
Outside of Kardinia Park in Geelong, home of the Cats, the new oval at Mildura South is arguably in the best condition of any in country Victoria. Then there is City Oval inside the trotting track, which would rank ninth in the Sunraysia league.
A couple of years ago, council had to use green paint on City Oval to cover up the bare patches on Grand Final day, so this isn’t a new issue.
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While the new sporting precinct is not yet fully completed, as it currently stands, it is still a much better facility for spectators and players alike.
Former Red Cliffs and interleague coach Ben Ridley, who now commentates games weekly on the SFNL, described the decision to not play the Grand Final at the new multi-purpose sporting complex as “mind-boggling”.
“What is more perplexing is the complex that garnered more votes at the SFNL boardroom table was the dinosaur known as Brian Weightman Oval, or (No.1) City Oval,” Ridley wrote in his Sunraysia Daily column.
“The oval itself is not up to standard and, to be honest, as a player or spectator, if you had to choose an oval in the region with the best atmosphere, City Oval would be at the bottom of the pile.”
Ridley is spot on.
Irymple playing co-coach Dan Coghlan, one of the most respected figures in the SFNL, said he “just can’t believe” the SFNL board opted in a 5-4 vote to play the football and netball grand finals at the rundown facilities in town.
“We played at No.1 Oval (in July), and the ground is so much worse (than the premier oval at MSP),” the former Essendon VFL captain said last month. “It’s dangerously worse. It’s really soft under foot and players were slipping at crucial times.
“You eventually want to play AFL and top-level cricket games at the new precinct, and we’re not playing our football and netball finals there? It’s crazy.”
Coghlan said the netball deciders could have been a major drawcard on the big day, with temporary courtside seating for more than 1000 spectators inside the new stadium.
Ahead of the SFNL board’s decision, council gave board members a tour of the new sporting precinct, outlining plans for how the council would have managed the day in catering for up to 7000 people.
This included putting in a temporary outdoor and indoor grandstands, as well as car parking to accommodate 1600 spaces.
But the answer was still no?
One of the main arguments for not playing at Mildura Sporting Precinct is that the netball final would have to be played indoors, as the outdoor courts will not quite be completed by September 10.
That decision, too, is a bit perplexing, given every professional netball league and indeed netball at the Commonwealth Games is played indoors, out of the elements.
There was also concern about the lack of shelter if it rains. Yet, at City Oval, if it rains, there is zero shelter to watch the netball.
Little of it makes sense.
The chorus of voices suggests this is a big opportunity missed.
In October, an AFLW game between Richmond and GWS Giants will be held at the new Mildura Sporting Precinct, on the back of the success of a TAC Cup game there a few weeks back.
That the venue is good enough for the AFL but not for the SFNL is, frankly, embarrassing. So, unless the board is willing to change its mind, our showcase event will be at City Oval.
Hope there is enough green paint.
