WANGARATTA president Paul Challman has slammed the Ovens and King league’s decision to give the grand final to its biggest rival, Wangaratta Rovers.
The league yesterday announced its showpiece event would be at W.J. Findlay Oval on September 17, ending a six-year stint at Norm Minns Oval, which is under redevelopment.
The league said it switched venue due to the reduced capacity at the showground but Challman, who said he was informed of the news yesterday, said capacity was not an issue and is disappointed at the lack of consultation.
“We are disappointed that we didn’t know about it,” Challman said.
“We’ve put in a lot of effort over the years to make it a spectacle.
“We hadn’t been contacted by the Ovens and King board or the football hub about the state of the construction.”
The showground, which hosts a Collingwood-Williamstown VFL match on July 17, is undergoing a $3 million redevelopment which is unlikely to be completed before season’s end.
Rovers president Mark Booth said his club was approached to host the grand final and said it hoped to rotate it between the grounds in the future.
“It came about a couple of weeks ago when we were approached by the Ovens and King,” Booth said.
“It’s for one year as I understand it.
“We are looking forward to it.
“It showcases our ground so we are very keen to look after them.
“Hopefully we might end up having it in turns.
“We need to be able to share our ground and anything we can do to support football we will.”
Last year’s Tarrawingee-Milawa grand final collected a gate of $30,112 and a crowd of about 4000.
The league said in a statement that “inconvenience” to spectators was a reason behind the switch.
“At our most recent meeting, the Ovens and King board decided that we would investigate our options in regards to the grand final,” it said.
“As the Wangaratta showground has lost some capacity and will cause inconvenience to our spectators due to the new facility under construction, the board decided to open up talks with the Wangaratta Rovers in regards to the City Oval.
“The board has now agreed to terms with the Wangaratta Rovers and the Ovens and King grand final on September 17 will be played at the City Oval.”
North East Football-Netball Hub general manager Rod Carmody said the grand final was likely to return to Norm Minns Oval in 2012.
“It’s hard to say but I couldn’t see why not,” Carmody said.
“The new facilities will be well and truly finished.
“It’s more about spectator comfort than anything else. There are no other issues.
“In the original plan it was going to be finished by June-July.
“Now it might be closer to Christmas.
“The board just decided the way it is fenced off now it is more about spectator comfort.
“We think it (W.J. Findlay Oval) will be big enough for the crowds that we have had in the past few years.
“They will host the breakfast in their rooms.
“We are very lucky to have two facilities we can use.”
The grand final was previously held at Tarrawingee and before that was rotated among clubs.
BY - CHRIS MITCHELL.
01 Jul, 2011 12:00 AM