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It looks like the North Melbourne Kangaroos might have finally found a second home. Eureka!, cried Kangaroos president James Brayshaw, as the Victorian Premier in full election mode seized an opportunity to win some votes in the bush by promising to spend $30 million in Ballarat.
“A future Labor Government will invest $30 million in the Eureka Stadium and Major Events precinct, with $25 million to bring the stadium up to AFL standard, including resurfacing the oval, new player change rooms and coaching boxes, and a boutique-style arena for up to 15,000 fans,” he said.
The ink has barely dried on Hawthorn’s lucrative five-year Tasmanian deal, which saw the Kangaroos hopes of playing games in Hobart dashed.
Within a week North Melbourne has done the Ballarat deal thanks to the Victorian election. It must be said though that Ballarat had been previously mooted for AFL games, but the North had appeared to have gone cold on the idea up until this week.
The Kangaroos adventures across Australia would make any ‘grey nomad’ green with envy: Canberra, Sydney, Gold Coast, Hobart all trialed, sequested, romanced and subsequently dumped as first or second base options over the years.
One verse of the North song strikes as surreal:
“Hearts to hearts and hands to hands,
Beneath the Blue and White we stand,
We shout, God bless our native land
North Melbourne, North Melbourne.”
The last line could have been replaced with North Melbourne and then a giant question mark.
However, this is the right call for North Melbourne and its fans, plus the AFL. Ballarat has a long history of Australian football from the very early days and the area still produces more than its fair share of players.
Regional Victoria apart from Geelong has missed out on fully fledged AFL games. This move will bring the game closer to many fans from around regional Victoria whilst still only a one hour drive from Melbourne.
North Melbourne, more than any other club has really struggled at the 55,000 seat Etihad Stadium to draw a decent crowd (above 15,000) against the interstate sides.
By playing four games from 2012, the Kangaroos get their boutique stadium for what is really a boutique sized Melbourne based AFL club.
Once Eureka Stadium is fully developed, I would not be surprised to see the Western Bulldogs follow suit. They are even closer to the Ballarat region with many of their supporters scattered along Ballarat Road leading out of Melbourne.
The AFL has been toying with the idea of building a third Melbourne stadium to cater for the 15-25,000 size crowds for a couple of years. This option makes a lot of sense for all parties.
The Kangaroos appear to have found that much sought after second watering hole which in reality has been under their pouches all along.
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