THE green light has been given to begin redeveloping the outdated floodlights at Shorten Reserve in West Footscray.
Maribyrnong City Council together with AFL Victoria are teaming up to fund the upgrade, with the club describing the development as a vital update for their facility.
The council has funded $93,000 of the project and AFL Victoria contributing $12,000.
City of Maribyrnong Mayor Councillor Cameron McDonald said he was proud to partner up with AFL Victoria and the West Footscray Football Club to see this essential upgrade come to fruition.
“Together we are helping to ensure grass roots footy is given the best possible chance to foster the skills of our next generation of football stars,” he said.
“The Club has experienced so much growth over the past years and these new works will literally shine the light on their success.”
AFL Victoria chief operating officer Ricky Bell said AFL Victoria was also pleased to support this project, particularly after recent facility planning work with five council areas in Melbourne’s west.
“This plan identified lighting upgrades as a key priority and to have Maribyrnong City Council and AFL Vic partner so quickly to deliver a project identified in this plan, demonstrates the importance of this collaborative planning approach,” he said.
“For the West Footscray Football Club, this project will deliver full ground lighting to achieve minimum training standards, allow the club to spread training load across the ground and improve the training environment for the entire club – from juniors through to seniors.”
West Footscray Football Club administrator Phil Rigg says the upgrade was long overdue, saying the Floodlights had not been updated since 1978.
He said the club had been working with Council on this project for the past two years and that the whole club was looking forward to training under lights.
“This facility upgrade will help the club attract more senior players, we will have the ability to train juniors on other nights and hopefully increase participation,” Mr Rigg said.
“This will open up a whole range of possibilities for us.”
Last Modified on 24/02/2016 14:11