No finals at Foster?
FOSTER Showgrounds is unlikely to be the venue for this season’s Alberton Football and Netball League grand finals.
Foster Showgrounds Special Committee member Ian Lyon said at a recent council briefing that the ground was in such poor condition, it was unlikely to host the grand finals this September.
He said the ground was damaged due to showjumping during the Foster Show and also by a train that operates on the oval on market days.
He said the committee could not afford to repair the surface. The committee has a maintenance budget of $7800 from council.
Mr Lyon said a consultant found the level of council funding was inadequate.
“We need a minimum of $25,000 to ensure the ground can handle demands,” he said.
A volunteer spends more than 30 hours a week working at the reserve, even then with a “clapped out old mower”, Mr Lyon said.
In a submission to council, showgrounds president Owen Kindellan said the ground should be drained twice a year for three years, then once per year, at a cost of $1500 per treatment.
Additional money would be needed for seed and fertiliser, and the contractor to undertake maintenance.
“The total cost to redress the annual damage done by horses to the oval is close to $15,000, far greater than the $7800 currently given to maintain the entire showgrounds,” Mr Kindellan’s submissions said.
The grounds illegibility for finals is news to the league secretary Lynn Wheelan who was under the impression the ground was in good enough condition to host one night round in the finals series and possibly the grand final.
“The club have requested to host a night final so (those comments are) very interesting,” she said.
“It is a bit more work to host the grand final than a night final but that’s what we are going to discus in our upcoming meeting.”
The AFNL are hosting a special general meeting of clubs on Wednesday with final venues are on the agenda.
After a grand final hosting debacle last year the league are going to review what the host club would receive for the use of their facilities.
“We are going to have guidelines for clubs to apply to host the grand final this year,” Ms Wheelan said.
“It will just be presented to the clubs next Wednesday and they will get some kind of written application outlining what the league provides and what the host club needs to provide.
“We are not 100 per cent sure of how it will work out at this stage.”
In the past the grand final hosts haven’t been paid money to host the grand final. Instead they get to run the bar after the seniors match and run a club raffle.
Another club gets to run the canteen and bar throughout the day while gate takings go to the league.
In Mr Lyon’s briefing of the council he also said that the grand final matches would most likely be held in Bass Coast Shire.
This could mean being hosted at the Wonthaggi Football Netball Club’s home ground, a side that aren’t in the AFNL.
Ms Wheelan said that the idea for Wonthaggi to host the grand final will be brought up.
“I suppose that will be discussed on Wednesday,” she said.
“I know that there are some people out there that would like it to but in the past when we had delegates meetings the clubs actually voted against it and wanted it to stay within the league.”
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