One of the big challenges for the round ball game as it continues to build its footprint across Australia is to improve the state of its facilities, but this is a subject that should be firmly on the table for discussion.
As the game grows and there is a greater need for more parks to accommodate the growing number of participants and games, so the need to influence and get the appropriate funding and support for football facilities grows.
Whether that be about extra park-space, better turf, better lighting, better change rooms, or amenities blocks, there is a clear need to improve the state of the game’s facilities.
And it’s happening. While I can’t speak for the entire country, what I can see happening out in the west of Sydney is a massive improvement.
Take Blacktown for example. In recent years we’ve seen the birth of what is now know as Blacktown Football Park at Rooty Hill, a beautiful little boutique facility used by the Blacktown Spartans club for their National Premier League and Skills Acquisition Program games.
Not only does it feature a synthetic pitch, but the grandstand and amenities areas are modern.
Across the road is the Blacktown International Sportspark, which plays host to the Western Sydney Wanderers and a couple of football academies, and while it is shared with other sports, the facilities there are being constantly upgraded, and the grounds are being kept in better condition.
Up the road, in Seven Hills, there’s Lily’s Homes Stadium, home of fellow NPL club Blacktown City, which has recently undergone a major uplift in its facilities, now featuring a synthetic pitch which can be divided into eight smaller five-a-side pitches.
They’re in constant use, whether for NPL or SAP training, academy training, or five-a-side social competitions.
Only a kilometre or two away is the Hills Sports High which features a synthetic pitch used year-round, not only by the students at the school, but teams in the NPL, W-League, and development academies.
Go past any of these grounds, on almost any afternoon or evening during the week, and they’re a hive of activity.
There’s little doubt this is being replicated across other parts of the country, both outdoor and indoor.
Further up the road in Parklea are the headquarters of Football NSW, Valentine Sports Park. Recently they unveiled their new Futsal facilities, a great little court featuring a grandstand and adjoining cafe.
Tomorrow that cafe plays host to the state body’s inaugural facilities forum, which, among other things, addresses how to better maintain grass pitches.
While there has been a trend in Sydney towards synthetic pitches, and we’ve seen them pop up in Sutherland, Manly, Blacktown, Edensor Park and even Arlington Oval in the inner city (a community facility), the importance of maintaining the grass pitches won’t be lost on anyone playing on the “concrete” pitches of winter.
The other significant part of the forum is about helping football family members better lobby local government for facilities and access.
I saw an example of this at play this season when taken on a tour of a new amenities block built by local council at the home ground of Rydalmere FC.
The club, growing from strength to strength, now into State League 1 and featuring junior teams in the Regional League next season, had to lobby hard for the new facilities.
But in the end, the power of their growing junior numbers won out.
More broadly, the power of football’s growing participation rates now and in the future is being used by Football NSW to sell the message of better facilities to the state government, and forms a big part of their Facilities Strategic Plan 2014-2024.
It cites, for example, that “FNSW has 22 per cent more players than other NSW football codes combined”. Then it dissects population projections.
With almost 50 per cent of the Australia’s registered footballers coming from NSW, clearly it has a big part to play in the move to better facilities, but so does the FFA and the other state bodies.
This is an important subject that deserves more broad attention over the next decade, but for now I’m keen to hear what you’ve noticed about the football facilities in your local area, or old school, in recent times, and what you’d like to see.
my mate james
Guest
It makes sense for artificial turf in a drought-ridden country like ours.
Canman
Guest
An interesting perspective Crashy - just introducing my children to 'organised' sport at 8/9 and football will be physical enough for both my boy and girl. I suppose there may well be pockets of difference in Australia somewhere but when it comes to the general consensus best let those who require the space use the space. Feel antagonised if you must.
MarkfromCroydon
Guest
Tree dotted open parkland is probably one of the most expensive types of open space to keep. Passive space does not generate any fee income in the same way that sporting fields do, and yet still requires regular maintenance and upkeep, especially for tree inspections and pruning/lopping. Pathways through such space also require upkeep and maintenance. Council's get the most 'bang for their buck' from sporting fields that are used (and a fee paid) by a variety of user groups, throughout the majority of the year.
Canman
Guest
The code wars played out through local councils - power to the people. This is essentially the second front for the round ball code in Australia. Proportional representation of recreation space has always been an issue for football - perhaps the lifted profile will now help address this imbalance
Rocco75
Guest
Mid I live in North Ryde as well. you are correct about the rugby clubs with fields. My nephew plays for North Ryde Soccer Club and plays at Magdala Park, North Ryde Oval and a few others in the area. the grounds are overused in winter BUT in summer, because of cricket being played once a day on the weekend, the grounds are in good condition. Different sports I suppose, but that's something to think about.
Bfc
Guest
Even if a club's #1 pitch is grass, local councils (who are usually the landlords..) should consider installing hybrid/synthetic grass pitches to assuage the problem of over use. There are few multi-use all weather venues except some futsal/basketball/netball venues (eg Newmarket, Logan City...) in SE Qld. In Bris, LionsFC is one of the few clubs who manage to maintain their home pitch in top condition until the very end of the season but at great cost (they have a 7-day-a week fully licensed clubhouse with restaurants and pokies...). Locally on the northside, MitchieFC (9 fields, 4 full sized, 3 3/4 sized, 2 half sized) is currently running trials for the upcoming BPL season, and to put it mildly, the pitches in use are poor. It is very difficult for coaches to assess the ability of players 'first touch' if the ball is constantly bobbling erraticly...and Mitchie is one of the bigger clubs. The 'wear and tear' issue arises because the venue is also available for use by schools, carnivals etc, so a conversion of some of the outer fields to hybrid/synthetic should be beneficial to the local community?
Johnno
Guest
Mid The leafy north shore will come under attack next 10 years. They chew up alot of space for rugby clubs. Apartments now gone up on the north shore in the leafy parts, residents up in arms, but couldn't do a thing, have to chip in like rest of sydney, rugby clubs next they'll have to give up some space, and comprimise and they kick and scream with there toys, but they will have to get out of the road and let soccer and AFL come in. Good story about north ryde, many more places this will happen.
Statler and Waldorf
Roar Guru
will synthetic pitches become more popular in the future? I would assume that they cost more to put in but am guessing that they are cheaper in the long run due to needing less maintanence but the big plus is not have to play on worn out grounds.
Midfielder
Guest
Johnno Just staying with cricket, an oval may get used one day on the weekend, and thus by 22 people over a week... put in a couple of BBQ's and a fitness circuit and it may get 100's use it each day ... In North Ryde at a sporting complex they converted a cricket oval to a Football oval plus three baseball fields ... As I said cricket is the worst but some of the social clubs with low player numbers will also start feel some heat in the future and in the northern districts of Sydney Rugby holds lots of parks and does not have the player base to justify it ... mega pressure coming over the next few years me thinks...
Johnno
Guest
Midfielder Agree it will become a mega issue. We may soon see Sydney be like Hong Kong style, and have soccer pitches on top of apartment buildings, and Japan. Not only that you have to fill up apartments,shopping centres, car parks,train stations,and on and on it goes, sports also want a piece of the pie. Mega issue shortage of land, don't know what the solution is, maybe we might eventually see like underground car parks and train stations,underground sport fields who knows.But space is at a premium. Some of the stats you show mid, are just the beginning. Cricket has big problems with it's huge demand for space, as does golf. Oh and I left out swimming pools, they are always a petrol guzzler for space. Some of the private schools now rent out there school ovals, at lucrative rates to local clubs, as many have ovals.
MelbCro
Guest
the key word is registered, other states are not set up like NSW. So that stat is misleasing
Brian
Guest
As a long time Glen Eira resident this is the same council that charges me $21 per hour to use tennis courts that almost no one else ever uses..
Midfielder
Guest
Johnno There is some huge pressure starting to build pertaining to the use of parks... cricket in particular wanting a big space and in relative terms a high cost park for 22 players over a day ... Believe me in time this will become a mega issue as land get more scarce in our major cities .. Rugby and I am talking about three teams I understand at park level very well has at best 20% the usage in terms of players and teams that Football does of a similar park... Will become as I said a mega issue...
Bondy
Guest
Nice read Tony . The concern is the transformation of local or state government members so often then re educating the next pollie's who take office and to take action is I'm sure another challenge .
timmypig
Guest
My 10 year old's club ground is a disaster by season's end, then has a summer of cricket played on it. Two football fields with an astroturf cricket pitch in the middle, between them. The ground never gets a rest. The ground nearest us also has football all winter and cricket all summer on a concrete pitch. It's in a shocking state. My boys also both play junior rugby. With only one exception, all those grounds are in a terrible state at season's end. The one that is the exception doesn't have cricket in summer, but does have little athletics. Modest 3BR brick veneer houses on 700m2 are going for almost a million in my area. What hope do local sporting clubs have of gaining a new ground or expanding their facilities? I wish I could share Tony's optimism re local sporting fields. The future is pretty ugly for clubs in established suburbs. Increasing demand and the limits have been exceeded on most fields. Short of putting up tall fences and locking the gates for months at a time, ie all summer, I see no prospect of the grounds improving. Furthermore, it'll be a pretty brave council that will cut services in one place (child care centre? library? curbs'n'gutters? garbage collection? what else? ) to spend money on facilities for clubs to use and lock up when not in use.
Johnno
Guest
Sokah is forgetting in the code wars and fights for facilities, it's not only them who want to fight for the space. AFL/NRL/rugby union/Cricket/Basketball all want public land given to them and not Sokah. So Sokah yah yah, it claims it's bursting at the seams, but the other footy codes rah rahs, want a piece of the action and the pie, they don't want to give up there land to Sokah. Cricket especially is very precious about land, as are golf courses increasingly being pressured to give up land and lawn bowls clubs too, for Sokah.
nordster
Guest
Well hey u get what youse pay for;) Gubbiment as the solution to your facilities woes...so sit about and wait for your area to become marginal and bribeable. No point complaining now hehe... Oh if only u lived in a country with a stronger, less fleeced ....and dare i say anarchic (the good rightie kind) ... private sector. Those tall poppies get lopped before they can fully bloom, alas. Even our paper asset wealthy ffa chair seems to lean on government for football's future, such is the state of the crony capitalist class! :)
cail
Guest
TheMagnificent -not sure if we want to Merge with Rovers :) We are in the same position - 1 1/2 fields for 8 Snr teams and countless Jr teams. While our president and committee do a fantastic job and are constantly upgrading the pitch (possibly one of the better in Brisbane until the end of the season) and facilities we still seem to be out growing it. It seems to me the best option is to have off site training pitches - particularly for the Snr teams who damage the pitch more - that or synthetic
AR
Guest
That's a good link Brendo. The reality for football or sports enthusiasts, is that sporting facilities are not the number one priority for local councils or governments, and nor should they be. Councils have to get bang for the buck, and a tree-dotted general parkland area is likely to be preferred by the overwhelming majority of rate-payers.
Brendo
Guest
Here is a good example of what I mean http://www.gleneira.vic.gov.au/Connect/Parks_and_recreation/Open_space/Glen_Huntly_Reservoir_Redevelopment_update The Booran Road Reserve within Glen Eira City was a prefect site for a sporting facility (especially a Football Pitch) but after opening it up for debate the council has chosen passive open space.