Clubs face hardships over water restrictions

By Paul Pickering
YARRA Valley football clubs are forecasting a financial drought as the introduction of Stage Three water restrictions threatens to expose sports fields.
Barring significant rainfall, as many as 10 Yarra Valley Mountain District Football League (YVMDFL) clubs are concerned they will be forced to find new home grounds.
Yarra Glen president Mark Mays says his club is bracing itself for the fiscal squeeze.
“We’re expecting crowds could be down by up to 70 per cent. Financially, it is going to be very difficult to run a football club on that capacity.”
The early onset of stage three restrictions dictates that only venues that have acquired watering exemptions, or have on-site water, are permitted to irrigate before round one of the season.
The application process, which incorporates the Yarra Ranges, Knox and Cardinia councils, has forged a divide between the YVMDFL’s haves and have-nots.
At present, six venues – including Woori Yallock and Yarra Junction – have been granted exemptions.
In addition, Healesville’s Don Road Oval will be able to use on-site water and the Alexandra/Thornton dual venue falls outside stage three zoning.
This means that just nine grounds will be permitted to irrigate before the season begins on 21 April.
The remaining 10 clubs – including Powelltown, Seville, Wandin, Warburton and Yarra Glen – have been asked to nominate their preferred surrogate-home venues.
The prospect of ground-sharing has been met with trepidation by clubs on both sides of the issue.
The concerns of displaced clubs are obvious, yet host clubs are equally worried about increased traffic on their grounds.
Emerald president Bill Kuys admits: “I’m not happy about it. We’ve put a lot of money into keeping it ship shape, and the ground is going to get chopped up pretty quickly.”
Woori Yallock president Phil Martin, however, says his club will be rolling out the welcome mat.
“At the end of the day, we’re all here for the same reason, to give the guys a game of footy. If that means sharing the ground then so be it.”
Financial matters, though, are sure to be a sticking point for clubs, with the allocation of gate takings and bar/canteen profits still to be decided upon.
The logistics of an eight-venue competition is likely to cause further headaches for league CEO Ben O’Brien.
With eight grounds being forced to accommodate nine matches, the league has flagged the possibility of one Sunday game each week.
While he admits that the drought is a major concern for clubs, Mr O’Brien is pragmatic about the situation.
“It is important to remember that most other country football leagues have faced similar problems over past years, but with cooperation between clubs and leagues, the world hasn’t ended, footy has continued to be played and clubs have continued to prosper.”
A preliminary 2007 fixture has been released, however, changes seem inevitable.
Mr O’Brien notes that “while the fixtures say we will be starting in April, there is the very real prospect of a disrupted start to the season, if we don’t get rain.”
The Shire of Yarra Ranges has also forbidden its winter tenants from using their grounds for pre-season preparation.