News VU Whitten Oval to become home for Women's Football.

[CrowdedHouse]

As reported on The Age website this morning...
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-ne...home-for-womens-football-20140914-10gq03.html

A $1.5 million upgrade of the Whitten Oval will transform the ground into the Victorian showcase for women's football, the fastest growing Australian Rules competition in the country.

In a redevelopment which has been supported by the Victorian government and the AFL, the Whitten Oval investment has also strengthened the push by the Western Bulldogs to become the first AFL club to field a women's team.

The move has reinforced the Bulldogs' vision to transform its once decrepit home ground into the centre of community and elite football in Melbourne's fast-growing western region. The Whitten Oval will also stage regular VFL games, VFL finals and is now likely to hold AFL pre-season NAB Challenge games from early next year.

Women's training facilities has become a hot political issue leading into the forthcoming Victorian election. The Whitten Oval upgrade will include two new women's change rooms and new lighting which will allow the best female players in the state to train outside of working hours.

Sports Minister Damian Drum, whose government has contributed $500,000 to the project, said he had been "blown away" by the skills at this year's second women's exhibition match staged by nominal Bulldogs and Melbourne teams selected through a second women's AFL-style draft.

Further funding has come from the Maribyrnong Council ($500,000) while the AFL has matched the $250,000 raised by the Western Bulldogs through a members' driven campaign last season.

The growth of the women's game across Australia was first significantly identified at head office by the AFL's first woman commissioner Sam Mostyn and has now become a strong focus of the league's only woman executive Dorothy Hisgrove, whose portfolio oversees community game development. The AFL now sees a genuine case for a national women's competition.

Both the state government and the opposition were heavily represented at last week's Victorian Women's Football League grand final at Coburg with the state ALP opposition pledging $10 million to establish or upgrade changing rooms for women athletes across Victoria.

Drum told Fairfax Media: "I'd say to footy fans who've never watched women's football you are missing out. This [Whitten Oval upgrade] will allow women's football to access AFL training facilities on an ongoing basis for the first time. It also enables the possibility of the Whitten Oval again hosting senior AFL football through the NAB Challenge.

"The gap in the pathway for girls' footy has been somewhere for the elite to call home in a training sense, using the best facilities can help lift the sport to another level. Despite all the great facilities a lot of AFL clubs have now, they've been designed for use by a professional men's team to use in working hours, and for a variety of reasons this doesn't work for elite female footballers.

"This is a great step in rectifying that and making elite women's footy something that young girls can aspire too, knowing that the facilities will be no different to that of an AFL team."

While the Bulldogs staggered to a disappointing AFL conclusion in 2014, the club's VFL team - which has readopted the title of Footscray - will contest Sunday's forthcoming grand final at Etihad Stadium in its first stand-alone season. Footscray attracted an attendance of more than 7000 when it hosted a week-one VFL final at the Whitten Oval.

Bulldogs chief Simon Garlick said the redevelopment in its first stage would see the VWFL Academy, which comprises the best 30 players across Victoria, train at the Whitten Oval on a weekly basis. The women's league, currently based at Carlton's Visy Park, boasts a premier division and five lower divisions.

While the Bulldogs have been highly sensitive to the impression the club is looking to gatecrash the women's league by forming its own team, the move has been strongly championed by the club's chairman Peter Gordon.

"We don't want to muscle in," said Garlick, "but we believe there are great benefits in having our own team both for the competition and clearly for us as well as for the western region community."

Garlick said the Whitten Oval would for the first time provide female players - who previously arrived at training in their football attire - access to AFL-standard training facilities on an ongoing basis.

Apart from NAB Challenge and regular Footscray VFL games and VFL finals, the Whitten Oval will host VWFL games, women's finals, Western Region Football League games and reinforce its place as the home of football for Maribyrnong College.

The Bulldogs will also host regular girls-only Auskick clinics in 2015 and the Youth Girls AFL weekend.

 

[CrowdedHouse]

As someone who broadcasts Women's Footy (via VWFLRadio.com) this is great news and a big step forward... not just for the VWFL, but also the Bulldogs as a club.

 

[_Mike_]

I think so, a positive step by the club to move in to an area that could benefit from having more exposure

 

[BRG93]

I got a little bit excited

"and is now likely to hold AFL pre-season NAB Challenge games from early next year."

 

[Tommycash]

Just brilliant! Good work.

 

[BRG93]

"The Mad Scientist" Peter Gordon is Awesome

 

[LondonBulldog]

"The Mad Scientist" Peter Gordon is Awesome

Gee would love this to be the first step in playing the interstate games at WO. Can I be allowed to dream......

 

[CrowdedHouse]

Further to the announcement from the Bulldogs website...
http://www.westernbulldogs.com.au/news/2014-09-15/dogs-announce-15-million-whitten-oval-upgrade

The Western Bulldogs Football Club today announced a $1.5 million upgrade of Victoria University Whitten Oval that will confirm the iconic ground’s status as the home of community football in the Western Region of Melbourne.

The upgrade, delivered in partnership with the Victoria State Government ($500,000), Maribyrnong City Council ($500,000) and the AFL ($250,000) will bring the Oval’s match day facilities up to VFL standard including new change-rooms, coaches’ boxes and ground lighting improvements.

Western Bulldogs Chief Executive, Simon Garlick today thanked the State Government, Maribyrnong City Council and the AFL for their significant contributions to the project.

“With the return of VFL football to Victoria University Whitten Oval this year through the Footscray Bulldogs we have been thrilled with the numbers that have flocked to the ground to support grass roots, community football,” Garlick said.

Garlick said bringing the ground up to VFL standard would see the Footscray Bulldogs play at least nine home games at VU Whitten Oval next year after successfully hosting five matches and a highly successful Qualifying Final in 2014.

“The new facilities will provide a significant boost to sporting and community infrastructure in the western region of Melbourne - the Bulldogs backyard - and the fastest growing community in the country,” Garlick said.

Importantly, the investment, which includes a $250,000 injection from the Club itself, will result in the establishment of two new gender neutral change rooms that will provide women’s football with access to a quality, professional venue across the female footy talent pathway.

The Western Bulldogs have forged an alignment with the Victorian Women’s Football League (VWFL) to maximise women’s access to VU Whitten Oval from 2015 that is set to include:

• Training facilities for the VWFL Development Academy
• Fixtured home and away VWFL matches
• VWFL Representative match
• 2015 Women’s National Carnival venue
• VWFL Finals venue
• Supporting the WRFL Youth Girls (12 to 17) competition at a local level.

The alignment builds on the successful establishment of the Western Bulldogs Women’s Team and first Victorian Club run All-Girls NAB Auskick Centre – both of which will be hosted at the ground in 2015.

New change rooms will also support significant increases in the use of the Oval by Western Bulldogs community programs across our comprehensive multicultural, disability, youth and health community platforms.

The new upgrade builds on the recent transformation of the ground into a community hub that sees more than 100,000 people visit the precinct annually to access a diverse range of amenities including a 105-place child care centre, community sports stadium and the local eatery – Barkers Café.

“We look forward to further transforming Victoria University Whitten Oval into a place where our community can come to not only enjoy football but to experience a wide range of activities for the whole family,” Garlick said.

 

[VitalDread]

10:30am
Womens footy
1pm
Vfl footy
4:40/7:40
Afl footy
oh boy wowie

 

[BallaratBulldog]

10:30am
Womens footy
1pm
Vfl footy
4:40/7:40
Afl footy
oh boy wowie

Don't be silly we will never be on 7:40 remove it.

 

[TheHoneyBadger]

Excellent. If we can't turn it into our home ground again, let's make it the biggest asset we possibly can, for the club and for the community.

Proper coaches boxes, mens and womens home/away change rooms, a video scoreboard, commentary/media facilities, fencing, lights - it's going to be bloody impressive when finished.

We couldn't have better people in charge of our club.

 

[VitalDread]

i might apply for the commentary job if they do it

 

[Norm De Guerre]

Election time. I love it.

 

[DexterTan]

i might apply for the commentary job if they do it

Boundary Rider!

 

[VitalDread]

Boundary Rider!

I have enough horrible jokes and nicknames for players to get a gig at channel 7

 

[Ant_]

I wonder if this is where our donations in our memberships went?

 

[BRG93]

I wonder if this is where our donations in our memberships went?

Think it mentioned somewhere that $250,000 was from Members and the AFL Matched it

 

[murphy2bedabest]

Excellent. If we can't turn it into our home ground again, let's make it the biggest asset we possibly can, for the club and for the community.

Proper coaches boxes, mens and womens home/away change rooms, a video scoreboard, commentary/media facilities, fencing, lights - it's going to be bloody impressive when finished.

We couldn't have better people in charge of our club.

In Peter Gordon's B&F speech he talked about Fenway park's old style looking modern scoreboard, and how that has given him and co ideas on what we could do.

Maybe a modern scoreboard with that old style look that we who are old enough grew up with. I can see hunter doing what he's old man would have done, by looking up at the horse results.

 

[VitalDread]

In Peter Gordon's B&F speech he talked about Fenway park's old style looking modern scoreboard, and how that has given him and co ideas on what we could do.

Maybe a modern scoreboard with that old style look that we who are old enough grew up with. I can see hunter doing what he's old man would have done, by looking up at the horse results.

like the one at ad oval?

 

[TheHoneyBadger]

In Peter Gordon's B&F speech he talked about Fenway park's old style looking modern scoreboard, and how that has given him and co ideas on what we could do.

Maybe a modern scoreboard with that old style look that we who are old enough grew up with. I can see hunter doing what he's old man would have done, by looking up at the horse results.

Yeah, I love that idea. State of the art facilities while preserving the rustic charm of the place.

 

[doggies ftw]

Dont see why we cant play a couple of games against GWS or GC there in the near future. How many people got down to the last game of the year at Etihad? We'd make a fair bit even from just 1 game.

 

[BallaratBulldog]

Dont see why we cant play a couple of games against GWS or GC there in the near future. How many people got down to the last game of the year at Etihad? We'd make a fair bit even from just 1 game.

We already make more money from the VFL crowds. Since they are thinking about NAB challenge game, hopefully it can be the persuasive measure we need to show the AFL the benefits.

 

[cleveland]

sad we make more cash from vfl games than afl home games.

just one thing is im surprised that the club doesnt fully own the cafe? I know the gordons are donating their share of profits but I thought we would get 100% from day 1

 

[VitalDread]

Reckon in the next 5 years we will start to build Whitten oval like how Geelong did their stadium

 

[Unorth]

This is a great example of how the club will increase relevancy. Renovating the ground, VFL finals, women's football...All very positive steps off-field for this club. When we start winning more games, it'll combine with this community involvement to likely represent a great shift for the club, in bringing about an increase in the size of the club (Hopefully). Let's hope this is the first of many such things to come, can only do wonders.