For six years, the Werribee Tigers have been waiting for Wyndham council to redevelop Chirnside Park to make it VFL-compliant.
The club’s Avalon Airport Oval base fails to meet the competition’s basic requirements around female and umpire changerooms, seating and accessibility.
The ground floor of the ageing clubrooms houses a small, dark gymnasium and a changeroom and shower for umpires, which double as storage space.
Every match day, committee members must move seven exercise bikes in the gym which block access to the changeroom and shower.
The ground has no dedicated female changerooms, no canteen and no lift to its first-floor social room, meaning disabled fans must be carried up the stairs.
The club is urging the council to include $5.5 million in this year’s budget to redevelop Chirnside Park.
The council’s proposed budget includes $122,000 to complete designs for the project.
Tigers chief executive, Mark Penaluna, said the facility also had public safety issues and did not meet current building code requirements.
“A new facility would see further potential for the club to improve its delivery of club and volunteer development opportunities, such as local club accreditation programs.”
In September, 2012, the council voted to scope options for the redevelopment of Chirnside Park, saying the expansion could allow Wyndham to bid to host football finals, NAB Challenge matches, Big Bash cricket, A-League soccer and Super Rugby practice matches.
At the time, the Tigers said the redevelopment was crucial in their efforts to compete with AFL clubs Geelong and Collingwood, which both field stand-alone VFL teams.
Last week, the council’s acting chief executive, Kelly Grigsby, said it was seeking funding commitments from the Tigers and the AFL before deciding on its preferred plan for the redevelopment.
She said the council would also seek state government support for the project.
