Local soccer club fears for its future after Western Bulldogs move in

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A soccer club in Melbourne’s inner-west is concerned for its future after the Western Bulldogs began training at its newly refurbished oval, forcing the soccer club – and other sporting clubs using the field – to change its schedule.

The Maribyrnong Greens soccer club, which has played at Skinner Reserve in Braybrook for 20 years, said it initially agreed to share the ground with the Bulldogs after the AFL club partnered with Maribyrnong Council for a $3 million upgrade of the previously run-down oval.

The Maribyrnong Greens soccer club is concerned about its future after the Western Bulldogs forced it to change its training times at Skinner Reserve.Credit: Penny Stephens/The Age

But now the soccer club, which has around 50 members, says it could lose tens of thousands of dollars in revenue and end up being pushed out of the grounds after its training schedule was changed to accommodate the Bulldogs.

“We were happy to share the ground with them, but now we don’t know where we will end up,” said Maribyrnong Greens treasurer Munib Rahimic.

“If they keep taking our times, we will not be around.”

The Bulldogs train on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which has been the Maribyrnong Greens’ time slot for decades.

The senior soccer team disbanded in March when the Bulldogs men’s team began training for the 2023 season. Some of the soccer club’s junior members have also left because of the change.

The soccer club forecasts the drop in members will cost it about $50,000 in fees and other revenue from matches, such as from food and drink.

Other sporting clubs using the field, such as the Kingston Cricket Club, have had to relocate altogether since the redevelopment of Skinner Reserve, which has historically been an AFL stadium and is where Bulldogs star Doug Hawkins once played.

Maribyrnong City Mayor Sarah Carter said the soccer club and the wider community still had 25 hours of access per week to the grounds, while the Bulldogs had 12 hours per week.

Maribyrnong Greens soccer club treasurer Munib Rahimic says his club will lose $50,000 in revenue from the changed schedule.Credit: Penny Stephens

She said the Maribyrnong Greens soccer club was a direct beneficiary of the partnership with the Bulldogs that led to the upgrades of the oval.

“We provide sports ground access to 55 clubs across 19 recreation reserves – with a growing population and an increase in demand for the use of sports grounds, council must balance the needs of all sport clubs within the municipality,” Carter said.

“Council will continue to support all Maribyrnong-based sporting clubs to grow their membership and participation levels.”

The Western Bulldogs said its AFL, AFLW and VFLW teams are using Skinner Reserve while Whitten Oval in Footscray undergoes major redevelopment, but the club would continue to use the ground in future.

“The Western Bulldogs recently partnered with Maribyrnong City Council to complete a $3 million redevelopment of Skinner Reserve,” the club said in a statement.

“The revamped facility enables the club to host training sessions for its football teams during the major redevelopment of VU Whitten Oval and into the future, as well as providing local sporting clubs with much-improved facilities.”

Maribyrnong City councillor Jose Jorquera said he voted in favour of the partnership because the Bulldogs were much-loved by the community, which raised funds to save the club from bankruptcy in the 1980s.

“Bulldogs are not your average private partner,” he said. “There’s a symbiotic relationship with the local community because they saved the Bulldogs.”

But Jorquera said he now regretted his decision because of the threat to community sporting clubs, including the Maribyrnong Greens.

Some of the young players in the Maribyrnong Greens soccer club.Credit: Penny Stephens/The Age

“Any public green space should be managed by a public entity,” he said. “It’s public land, not Bulldogs land. Elite sports may have grassroots links, but there is a real disconnect because elite sports is driven mostly by the dollar.”

Jorquera also criticised Melbourne Victory contributing funds towards an upgrade of Robert Barrett Reserve in Maribyrnong in exchange for a 10-year license agreement in 2017.

“It’s outrageous, ratepayer monies should not be used to subsidise sporting corporations.”

The Maribyrnong Greens says it is worried a large organisation such as the Western Bulldogs would be prioritised in future, causing further turmoil for the club.

In an email to the Maribyrnong council, the soccer club asked for reassurance it would not be edged out of the grounds. The council did not respond.

“Western Bulldogs are getting preference because they have money. Just because they have money doesn’t mean we are nothing,” said Rahimic.

In 2020, the Western Bulldogs were criticised for limiting community access to Whitten Oval during the pandemic. In the same year, community members launched a petition to reopen the adjacent Spurling Reserve playground after the club closed it to the public.

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