I WONDER in a few years if Mildura Football Netball Club will look back and regret its decision to knock back the chance to move to the new Mildura South Regional Sporting Precinct.
With stage one well under way, we are all now starting to get an idea of the size and magnitude of this great new addition to our local sporting landscape.
Over a decade ago the Mildura Rural City Council (MRCC) asked for expressions of interest from clubs interested in relocating to the proposed new sporting precinct.
Mildura Football Netball Club was one of the first to put its hand up and, on January 16, 2009, the MRCC wrote to club officials to inform them it had been – “resolved that the Mildura Football Netball Club is the preferred partner and tenant to occupy the new facility”.
The news ended years of lobbying by the Demons who had first expressed interest in relocating from Brian Weightman Oval (City Oval) back in 2004, when the MRCC released its Mildura Sporting Reserves Master Plan.
The initial plan was commissioned to look at changes to Mildura’s three main sport and recreation reserves – Mildura Recreation Reserve, Old Aerodrome Sporting Complex and Mansell Reserve.
In the end, the council did not adopt the proposed report and instead endorsed a new plan to build a $30 million facility at the Mildura South site.
Once this decision was made, Mildura Football Netball Club was again asked if it was still interested in relocating from its current home to the new facility.
To the surprise of many, it said no, opening the door for Imperials and South Mildura to press their cases to become the tenant.
The Demons decision not to move from Brian Weightman Oval, their home base since last century, I’m sure was a difficult one.
But I still can’t help think they might one day regret they never used their “golden ticket” to secure the rights to the new sporting precinct.
It defies reasoning really, when you think the current facility they have is shared with the Harness Racing Club and Imperials.
A move out to Mildura South would have meant no more parking around the trotting track for spectators on match day or having to compromise on training nights, something that is unavoidable when you share the same football ground and netball courts with another club.
I know the club stalwarts will read this and think I have no sense of history. Far from it, I love nothing more than walking into a footy or cricket club and looking at the photos on the walls and reading the names that adorn the honour boards.
That’s my point. A club’s history is what is recorded and hangs on the walls, things which can easily be dismantled and relocated to another place without losing any of their significance.
Mildura’s decision to stay at Brian Weightman Oval opened the door for Imperials and South Mildura.
In the end, it was South Mildura which was successful in its pitch, a great win for a club which hasn’t had much to celebrate in recent years.
South will remain at Sarah Oval next season, but in 2022 the Doggies will be packing their bags for their new home on the other side of town.
And what a new home it will be.
A brand new facility, sure to be the envy of every club in the Sunraysia Football Netball League.
Brand new social rooms and clubrooms, located in a part of town which is booming.
It’s pretty hard to find too many negatives really.
