With the Victorian Football League (VFL) finals having got underway at the start of September, it has been a topsy-turvy couple of month for football fans in Melbourne, as hopes that the finals may return to the Victoria Park stadium were soon quashed when AFL Victoria expressed concerns about the logistics of parking, fencing and broadcasting from the location.
Victoria Park, a VFL icon since 1892, was the home of Collingwood Football Club until 1999. Since then, the club’s training has been taking place at the Westpac Centre on Olympic Boulevard. Operating as a community hub since February 2012, Headspace and AFL Sportsready have already taken up residence at the stadium, while Merri District Girl Guides and Collingwood Toy Library will move in soon.
The last time VFL finals were held at Victoria Park was in 1995 with a match between Sandringham and Springvale -a drought that looked like it could have been broken after an historic vote by Yarra City Council in July 2012 decreed that the facilities and the ground were in good condition.
Local fans of the sport will hope that the vote could at least pave the way for the competition to return to Victoria Park in future years. No doubt local printing companies would be happy to compete for the privilege of banner printing to announce any future events played out at the park.
The Finals are now well underway and Saturday, September 1, saw Williamstown move into the semis will a win against Bendigo.
