JUNIOR football matches will not be played at Wangaratta's Wareena Park Oval until next season due to a blowout on the timeline connected to the renovation of the ground.
To give clubs, players and families some certainty around weekly matches, the league has decided to reschedule all remaining games, however, training at the oval could take place from late July.
Wangaratta and District Junior Football League operations manager Matthew Elliot said the tenant clubs, Imperials and Kangaroos, have been impacted as a result of the works for the last few months despite a belief it would be ready by season's start.
Mr Elliot said they have been working with council over the last six months and although they were hopeful to use the facility following the King’s Birthday weekend, that didn't eventuate.
“In consultation with council and the two tenant clubs we’re looking to remove all the scheduled games from Wareena Park and relocate them to another venue for the remainder of the season," he said.
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Last weekend both clubs played their matches at North Wangaratta Recreation Reserve and club officials were looking to establish a more permanent match schedule.
“It might provide the clubs with a bit of stability for the rest of the season and allow them to do some fundraising through canteens and kiosks as well,” Mr Elliot said.
“On Saturday the Kangaroos were able to fundraise and they have had limited opportunities to do that this year.
“Imperials were also there on Sunday and they played a mix of the Benalla teams and the Tigers as well.”
Mr Elliot is waiting for some feedback from council about this weekend as council had to liaise with its grounds management team to make a recommendation on the best venue options.
“As a league, the two clubs, and council, we’ll just take our guidance from the management team given that there will be extra traffic on the other grounds,” he said.
Mr Elliot said he was initially under the impression that works were going to be completed by the season start date but they found out last year that the recommendation from the project team was not to have match play at all on the ground in 2025.
“That was communicated late last year and we thought about what we could do to provide the clubs and families with some stability and certainty about where they would be each week," he said.
“We were very happy that we were potentially going to be on the ground from May or June as well as the timelines changed due to the rain.
“We needed the rain for the surface to take really well and I guess from council’s perspective user safety is paramount and is a very important factor and the league agrees with that.
“It’s been a rollercoaster – we thought we might not get there, then we thought we would, and now there’s been delays so we decided to rule out match play in 2025."
It’s not just the ground surface, the venue access around the perimeter of the venue is also unfinished and could pose a safety risk.
The silver lining is that clubs might be able to train at the ground from late July with council aiming for a 24 July opening.
Complete reconstruction works of the oval include improved drainage and a new automatic irrigation system.
Works also include new infrastructure, including perimeter fence, AFL posts, synthetic cricket pitch, coach’s boxes and concrete pads.
The project need was identified in the development of the 2020 Wareena Park Masterplan.
Project funding of $600,000 was provided by the Regional Community Sports Infrastructure fund.
Council director - community and infrastructure Marcus Goonan said newly laid turf requires specific weather conditions and sufficient time to properly establish its root system.
"Allowing play too early would risk damaging the turf, potentially setting the project back and requiring costly rework," he said.
"We appreciate the community’s patience as we prioritise a high-quality, durable playing surface for seasons ahead."
Works began last October and were expected to be completed in April.
