Page 1992 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 3 June 2015
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upgrade, that they would be included in discussions and that their season would not be affected because work would not start until the end of their then 2013 current season. Again, we know now that that was all just words. What was originally scoped and assumed to be on offer turned out to be something less in reality. And the reality has become more and more disappointing since the facility has been opened.
My concerns and those of the Woden football club over the planning of the upgrade and its execution have been shown to be valid. “Shortcomings” is probably not a strong enough word to cover the range of mistakes that have been made, from the unfortunate to the straight-out incompetent. It is unfortunate for the ACT community that we are continuing to see a pattern forming in this current government, a pattern which sees poor vision, poor planning, insufficient community dialogue, that leaves community expectations far short of what is actually delivered.
Woden park is the home to the Woden athletics community and the Woden football club and is utilised all year round by these two sporting communities. Each of these two communities has the ability to draw large crowds, great competitors and a fantastic community. The Woden football club, now playing as the Woden-Weston Football Club, play in Capital Football’s top-flight competition in the ACT and were given an expectation of a much-improved ground. They had to put up with not just one season of disruption but, almost longer, they had to relocate all their games and training to the other side of Canberra. They lost valuable patronage and essential canteen revenue while this upgrade was in progress. Promised dates of completion dragged on and on.
But the club held onto the belief that what they would be getting was an improved playing surface that the club could proudly boast as their home turf and that Capital Football would get a much-needed additional premium football ground with lights that would enable important matches to be played at this new facility.
Let us see what has been delivered after so long. After being forced to relocate for the 2014 season, even after assurances that they would not have to, the Woden football club have returned to the pitch that is far below any expectation that was set, as the pitch itself has already begun to deteriorate. After just two months of use, there are explicitly visible signs of wear on the pitch in a number of areas—the goal area, the centre of the pitch and down the sidelines, where only the lines men and women who officiate operate. Even this area has rapidly deteriorated.
From a football perspective, the promised upgraded playing area has proven to be even worse than the previously acknowledged substandard playing surface that was there before. How long will this government allow this pitch to deteriorate before taking action to allow quality football to be played again at Woden park?
After the upgrade of the Woden park facilities, Capital Football indicated that the location could be used to host premier events such as finals. But there are now concerns over the potential for these events, concerns that go across a number of areas. First of all, where are the spectators going to sit? Prior to the developments at Woden park, the Woden football club was able to host in excess of 400 people on seats. Now we see that the ground has been stripped of a section of stands, leaving fewer than 200
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