Imps on the move for 2024

IMPERIAL Football and Netball Club could be about to move home for the first time in nine decades.

The 19-time senior football premiership winners are in the process of making Number 3 Oval their new base by the start of the 2024 Sunraysia Football and Netball League season.

Calling the current Brian Weightman Oval home since 1933, Imperials’ proposed shift is a short distance away at the Mildura Recreation Reserve yet signifies a historical leap for the club.

The former home of the South Mildura Sporting Club has been vacant since the Bulldogs moved to Mildura Sporting Precinct last year, after their bid to be based at the new facility was selected over Imperials in 2019.

Club president Chris Sharman said a potential shift has been in the pipeline since, and they’re in the process of formalising official lease agreements with Mildura council.

A timeline is still to be determined but Sharman is hopeful the move will occur within the next 12 months.

Imperials would have a playing surface to call their own after shared tenancy of Number 1 and 2 Oval facilities with Mildura Football and Netball Club.

Senior football sides and social rooms will be moved across in the current plan, however junior football and netball would remain in their adjacent locations.

Members were taken on a tour through No. 3 Oval facilities on Thursday night, where the club outlined their vision to “Imp-lify” a new home base.

Sharman said despite some initial concerns, members were on board with the decision and excited about the future.

“We certainly are excited,” he said.

“There may be challenges there but as a club we believe we have the skill set to get past that.

“We are formalising a lease agreement with council and we will go from there. There are a few things that need to be done before that stage, including bringing the club rooms up to a state were we can lease them out.

“There’s a bit more conversation to go ahead but it’s all moving forward positively.”

Currently, No. 3 Oval is used as a training base for elite junior development programs alongside a cricket playing surface during the summer.

The move would give Imperials a blank canvas to build into the future, and provide more independence from an extensive list of user groups including Mildura FNC and the Mildura Harness Racing Club.

“We will have a bit more autonomy than in our current premises but we’ll also still have to be mindful of other user groups in the reserve,” Sharman said.

“Junior football and netball at this stage will remain in their current locations. Over recent years, we managed to help build a really good netball facility so currently we don’t see a need to move across on game day as yet.”

Imperials will look to implement a five-year development plan of the facility which includes development of the current rooms and revitalising the main oval in their own image.

Plans are also in place to upgrade the scoreboard and add playing quality lights to allow for night and twilight fixtures, as well as netball changerooms.

“It’s a blank canvas and somewhere that we’re excited to build our future,” Sharman said.

In a historical twist, Imperials called No. 3 Oval home in 1930 before moving to their current base three years later.

The club will remain at their current home base for the 2023 campaign, which begins on April 22 against Red Cliffs at Quandong Park.