Potential Shield Final Locations

[Van_Dyke]

Five teams, four possible venues, two finalists and one host: all to play for in the final round of the Shield

The Sheffield Shield is headed for a gripping finale after a dramatic penultimate round opened up a range of possibilities for the final and set up an intriguing last three matches.

Complicating matters even further is the fact the home grounds of Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia will all be unavailable for the final.

The Bushrangers have nominated Traegar Park, Alice Springs as their alternate venue, C.ex Coffs International Stadium in Coffs Harbour has been approved as the Blues' ground while the Redbacks will host the final at Gliderol Stadium, Glenelg on the outside chance they finish top. The Gabba is available to Queensland should they finish top.

http://www.cricket.com.au/news/shef...-alice-springs-coffs-harbour-gabba/2016-03-08

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Traeger Park

 

[eth-dog]

WA can't make it, So it's really only 4 sides eligible.

Game should be held at the WACA or Bellerive if Victoria/NSW make it. Like last year.

 

[ioppolo]

Alice Springs hosting a shield final would be a ******* joke.

 

[eth-dog]

Alice Springs hosting a shield final would be a ******* joke.

Yeah. So really:

WA can't make it, So it's really only 4 sides eligible.

Game should be held at the WACA or Bellerive if Victoria/NSW make it. Like last year.

Should happen.

 

[Van_Dyke]

I want QLD to host the final.

 

[The_Reaper]

I get why they weren't available last year but lol

So much for last year being "special circumstances"

 

[JackOutback]

Alice Springs? Bloody ridiculous, game should be played in the same state as the top team This all makes the competition look second rate.

Is Junction Oval not available either?

If the Vics can't host it, should go to the team that finishes second (provided they have a venue in their state).

 

[bombersfan4000]

Alice Springs hosting a shield final would be a ******* joke.

what is the joke is that the vics have no other place to play the final in Vic out side of the MCG, you have to wonder, some of the old AFL team grounds, Princess Park, Windy Hill, Whiten Oval would surely be capable of holding a shield final

 

[Van_Dyke]

what is the joke is that the vics have no other place to play the final in Vic out side of the MCG, you have to wonder, some of the old AFL team grounds, Princess Park, Windy Hill, Whiten Oval would surely be capable of holding a shield final

Has to be up to what I presume is CA's FC standards.

IIRC one of the main issues was turf nets, completely off the main ground. The other two IIRC was the onfield section itself and the spectator amenities. western royboy could tell you more.

 

[western royboy]

Has to be up to what I presume is CA's FC standards.

IIRC one of the main issues was turf nets, completely off the main ground. The other two IIRC was the onfield section itself and the spectator amenities. western royboy could tell you more.

You've got the main reason - turf nets must be completely off ground. None of the old footy ground set ups are off ground - they are all adjacent. Obviously hard to have a net while the game is on if they are adjacent to the ground.

The revamped Junction will but at the moment they sit adjacent to the ground - not off it.

 

[bombersfan4000]

You've got the main reason - turf nets must be completely off ground. None of the old footy ground set ups are off ground - they are all adjacent. Obviously hard to have a net while the game is on if they are adjacent to the ground.

The revamped Junction will but at the moment they sit adjacent to the ground - not off it.

many of the cricket grounds in India have wickets on the ground with temporary nets set up during practice sessions
the biggest problem with the junction oval at the moments is the actual facilities are not up to scratch, not so much the practice wickets.
princess park doesn't have any cricket practice wickets inside the venue & the carlton cricket club has nets near the ground, the blues do a lot of their preseason training on the ovals ajasent the venue of princess park, its capable of hosting preseason games holding crowds 20k other venues in Ballarrat or Bendigo have hosted FC games? im more so dumbfounded that apparently Victoria doesn't have a second venue out side of the MCG that can host a shield game

 

[western royboy]

many of the cricket grounds in India have wickets on the ground with temporary nets set up during practice sessions
the biggest problem with the junction oval at the moments is the actual facilities are not up to scratch, not so much the practice wickets.
princess park doesn't have any cricket practice wickets inside the venue & the carlton cricket club has nets near the ground, the blues do a lot of their preseason training on the ovals ajasent the venue of princess park, its capable of hosting preseason games holding crowds 20k other venues in Ballarrat or Bendigo have hosted FC games? im more so dumbfounded that apparently Victoria doesn't have a second venue out side of the MCG that can host a shield game

One Day games - no problem - First Class - I see it as a problem - if you want a net or throw downs you can't and that's one of the problems. I went to the Junction for the WBBL - facilities were fine for the crowd that turned up which is no more than turned up for the Shield games at the MCG through out the year.

CA and the ACA established the criteria for what constitutes a FC venue these days. Currently there is no other ground that meets that standard - unfortunately, that's why we are playing a home game in Alice Springs next week and the final there should we make it.

I don't like it at all but that's the ludicrous situation we find ourselves in.

 

[Phone]

Alice Springs is a helluva lot better than last year's farce. At least there's some sort of history of Victoria playing home games there

 

[ROOTA#6]

You've got the main reason - turf nets must be completely off ground. None of the old footy ground set ups are off ground - they are all adjacent. Obviously hard to have a net while the game is on if they are adjacent to the ground.

The revamped Junction will but at the moment they sit adjacent to the ground - not off it.

What do u mean by adjacent? My understanding of adjacent is next to or alongside. If the turf nets are adjacent to the playing surface then all should be good. Obviously my understanding of the word us wrong

 

[Van_Dyke]

Yeah. So really:

Should happen.

Least Coffs Harbour is actually in NSW

 

[The_Reaper]

Is there a plan for Eureka Stadium to be first class standard?

 

[ROOTA#6]

Is there a plan for Eureka Stadium to be first class standard?

Nope. Ballarat council have approved an upgrade of another venue in the town that is hoped to be up to standard

 

[Bomberboyokay]

This all makes the competition look second rate.

It is second rate, literally.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

what is the joke is that the vics have no other place to play the final in Vic out side of the MCG, you have to wonder, some of the old AFL team grounds, Princess Park, Windy Hill, Whiten Oval would surely be capable of holding a shield final

Princes Park and Whitten Oval are occupied by AFL clubs, no idea what Windy Hill is used for now.

 

[western royboy]

What do u mean by adjacent? My understanding of adjacent is next to or alongside. If the turf nets are adjacent to the playing surface then all should be good. Obviously my understanding of the word us wrong

Next to / Alongside - yes which means they are not off ground away from the playing surface and thus no good. All of the grounds mentioned feature bowlers run ups on the playing surface.

 

[The_Reaper]

You are correct, the Eastern Oval is being upgraded to be a boutique cricket ground which will have the capacity to accommodate cars around the boundaries and spectator mounds to the rear of the car parking areas. Some old pavilions and amenities are being demolished to make way for more modern conveniences. This is part of a $4.2 million ten year Eastern Oval Master Plan. As this linked document highlights, the facilities there are very old and the oval needs a lot of love. This plan involves creation of new spectator friendly areas and the building of a new electronic scoreboard. A new concourse is to be built between the existing football and cricket clubs and the existing grandstand. There are a couple of aerial shots in this document that illustrate clearly the land-locked nature of the ground that limits development including public roads, private property and of course the Yarrowee Creek.

Page 20 of this document also highlights the fact the the Eastern Oval does not presently meet ICC minimum ground dimension guidelines. That said, you'd wonder how NZ even comes close with some of it's major venues?

With cars and spectators the ground has a capacity of around 6000. If the cars are restricted the capacity is closer to 8000. Along with the Eastern Oval's redevelopment is the replacement of its pitch which ATM is considered by the VCA to be sub-par for anything beyond regional competition which is why Ballarat is continually getting knocked back for hosting shield games and one day games for visiting international teams. Those games at the moment are going to centres like Albury, Shepparton, and Bendigo. Bendigo is a good case in point, as they have spent their money cleverly on their QE Oval rebuilding it to Etihad dimensions, installing 500 lux lighting, installing 900 seats on a new terrace the Western end, building a new electronic scoreboard and upgrading their existing grand stand and ground amenities. That ground has a 14000 capacity, with provision for around 2500 to be seated. The other 11500 have to stand.

That said, the Eureka Stadium has had provision made for the installation of two drop-in pitches. Not that anybody has indicated that Eureka Stadium should be, or is likely to be used for anything beyond local cricket games over the summer months. It will ultimately come down to how the Ballarat City Council wishes to use the two grounds.

Aren't hosting s**t either

 

[western royboy]

There is only provision in the recent rebuild to allow for drop in pitches. How the stadium is eventually used is entirely up to its owner, the Ballarat City Council.

I have said it once - I'll say it again. Both the NB Roosters & Rebels are based at Eureka - these are close to full time operations. In the very near future the Bulldogs will play H&A games there. Cricket is not in the frame here.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

The run ups for the turf nets are on the oval at Gliderol Stadium (Glenelg Oval)

 

[western royboy]

At Western Royboy,

You are quite right, I can't see any reason why cricket would be played on Eureka Stadium beyond local competition level over summer. The Eureka Oval is used for local cricket games each summer and the full development of the North Ballarat No 2 Oval to exactly the same competition standard as the main arena will allow for the Roosters and Rebels to train under exactly the same conditions over summer without impeding the cricket competition nor sacrificing/compromising their training standards. The No 2 oval has been a real boon for the two football clubs as part of the Eureka Stadium development, the original 200 lux lights have been relocated to the No2 ground and new change rooms etc are to be built to allow for training and alternate ground usage in the event that the main arena is being used for other big events such as WB Games. The No 2 oval will be quite a decent facility in its own right once completed to its fully developed state. I suspect that they will be the envy of the entire VFL competition in terms of the facilities that they will have at their disposal once the project completes Stage 1 later in 2016.

Consider that the Roosters and Rebels are only tenants of a facility that is owned by the Ballarat City Council, and accordingly, while the Council get the final say on how the ground is used over the summer months, or during the Ballarat Show etc. the Council are unlikely to interfere with the Rebels and Roosters access to their primary training ground (the No 2 Oval).

That said, a lot of money has also recently been pumped into development of the C.E. Brown Reserve (AKA the Wendouree Oval which is located less than 600m from Eureka Stadium) with the entire oval being re-built to modern standards in 2014, new lighting in 2015, and a further $2 million is now being spent upgrading and building new pavillions, nets etc. It is now arguably the best cricket oval in Ballarat (Only to get a lot better in two years time) and likely to remain that way until the Eastern Oval is fully redeveloped in about 10 years time. At the moment the Eastern Oval does not meet ICC standards, but the Wendouree Oval does.

I can't see any regional oval in Victoria meeting the CA 1st Class standards anytime soon