Cricket Victoria and AFL Victoria, in partnership with the Victorian government, have renewed the division of seasons agreement addressing shared use of sporting facilities across the state.
This new agreement, which came into effect April 1 and runs until March 31, 2028, is designed to provide guidance to local government, community leagues, associations and clubs regarding change of season fixturing and usage at local level.
As part of the new agreement, Cricket Victoria and AFL Victoria have also agreed to a new resolution process where scheduling challenges impact the ability to prepare grounds for the respective codes.
The overwhelming majority of grounds used by community football and cricket clubs are shared by both sports who generally play across the respective traditional six-month windows: April to September (football) and October to March (cricket).
The broad principle of the agreement is that cricket clubs are afforded priority use rights of shared facilities during the traditional cricket window (October to March) and community AFL football clubs having priority rights to shared facilities during the traditional football window (April to September).
Cricket Victoria chief executive Nick Cummins said the agreement was a key document for local stakeholders to use.
“There has never been more pressure on grounds across the state to be ready for the summer and winter codes,” he said. “This agreement reaffirms the commitment from cricket and football and the Victorian government on what that access needs to look like,” he said.
“Being ready to play means exactly that. We understand that football can’t wait until May to begin and likewise cricket can’t wait until November to start. Every ground will have its own characteristics, but each code needs to be able to play on schedule at the turn of season.”
“Our new triage process gives clear direction on how issues are identified and escalated where required. No one knows their grounds and circumstances better than the local community and we want to support those clubs to a successful outcome.”
“Many of Victoria’s fantastic, shared sporting facilities have been built on back of nearly 150 years of cricket and footy’s cooperation.”
