If the proof is in the pudding, soccer is booming in Whittlesea and the council’s grass pitches are muddy enough to prove it.
Last week, councillors voted to develop a soccer strategy in response to petitions from two Lalor-based clubs to turn their grass training grounds into synthetic ones.
The strategy is expected to guide the management of pitches and the divvying up of training facilities. It will also include a cost-benefit analysis for replacing grass with synthetic turf soccer pitches.
Whittlesea Rangers Football Club co-director Serge Costanzo was pleased the club’s request for synthetic turf had been considered and said the club would be heavily involved in the development of the soccer strategy.
But, he said, no timeline had been given for a reprieve from the worsening conditions at Partridge Street Reserve at Lalor, where 500 members train and play each week.
“When winter sets in, the grass tears up and it’s very difficult to have 30-odd teams training during the week,” Costanzo said.
“Whereas you can train on a synthetic pitch 24-7.”
The main aim of the soccer strategy is to develop a blueprint for the future needs of soccer in the city. This will involve an audit of facilities and preparation of a 10-year plan for future ground development.
The blueprint is expected to be completed between September this year and June next year, and all soccer clubs will be stakeholders.
Whittlesea council’s 2013 household survey found soccer had grown from being the fifth- most-played sport in the municipality in 2007 to the second-most-played sport in 2013.
There are more than 1900 players registered at 10 soccer teams in the city.
