THE Sunraysia Football and Netball League is expecting a bumper crowd of more than 6000 people for its showpiece event at Mildura Sporting Precinct this Saturday.
SFNL president Paul Matheson said the big crowds in the opening two weeks of finals pointed to a strong turnout on grand final day.
“I’m more than comfortable to say we’re going to get a bigger crowd than the AFL women’s game (on October 23),” he said.
“They are expecting 6000 or 7000, but I believe our crowd over the course of the day will be bigger than that.”
Planning for the day is still being finalised, but concerns over the senior football game being played in a twilight timeslot have been allayed.
The clash between Irymple and Wentworth will take place on the premier oval at the traditional time of 2.30pm.
“I think you’ll find the under 16s will start the day’s games about 8.30am on the main oval,” Matheson said.
“With the netball, the scheduling is likely to be what it was (on Saturday for the preliminary finals).”
In a massive boost for showcasing the region’s finest netballers, there will be temporary seating for at least 700 spectators to watch the indoor deciders.
There is additional permanent seating above the main community court, adjacent to the club rooms.
Large curtains will also be installed this week to remove the glare on the courts.
Stands will be brought in from City Oval to go between the electronic scoreboard and change rooms at the premier oval.
There will also be 40 boundary bench seats put in place around the main oval, catering for about 200 people.
Organisers would not put a number on how many people will be allowed on the viewing mounds, which will be close to the outdoor bar.
A site map for the day shows where the bar, food and toilets will be located, along with two main access points into the precinct.
Traffic will flow “left in, left out” from Deakin Avenue, while Sixteenth Street will have a drop-off zone and walk-in entry.
There will be on-site parking to accommodate about 800 vehicles.
Mildura Council is yet to confirm arrangements for bus services to the venue.
The weather forecast for Saturday is a top temperature of 20 degrees, light winds and a possible shower or two.
But there could be up to 15mm of rainfall on Thursday, with head curator “Aussie” Cumming confident the ground will drain well in the event of a big downpour during the week.
A slight disruption on Saturday is expected to come from an indoor badminton competition, where about 80 registered players are taking part.
“They’ll use the two back courts inside the stadium and the court next to it will be available for warm-ups for the netball teams,” Matheson said.
“And then there will be two netball courts on the main-oval side of the stadium, with seating in the middle.”
The A-grade netball grand final will be played between undefeated juggernauts Wentworth and reigning premiers Ouyen United.
