Ballarat City Council will vote this week on a plan that aims to set the future direction for years to come. Key to this objective is rationalising the available space to better suit the bowls, cricket, football and netball clubs that use the oval. Gone is the croquet lawn and in its place is a new synthetic bowls green. 

The cricket nets have been shifted to the Peel Street corner, enabling a new netball court to enhance the precinct. 

Preserving the heritage value of the old grandstand is a given.

 All this is to be applauded, and the devotees of these ever-popular sports will be pleased they have been considered with an eye for the longevity of their demands.

Foremost in this plan is the acceptance that the oval is primarily a participation venue, and that it will continue to hold a vital place in the lives of multiple sports clubs and competitions. 

It highlights Eastern Oval’s role as a boutique sporting ground with a healthy capacity for spectators, but also one which recognises the demands of “blockbuster” events are better housed elsewhere. 

In an age when organised recreation and its attendant social and health benefits are more important than ever, this role for an inner-city space cannot be overestimated. 

The larger Ballarat grows and the more medium density becomes common in its central business district, the more valuable will be every square metre of open space. 

A well-preserved and utilised recreational space like this, with a plan for decades to come, will not only be a gift for generations but will continue in the tradition of the early visionary leaders who established it. 

But where does this leave the vexed issue of car parking? The shifting of facilities should free up some vacant land on Scott Parade adjoining the Yarrowee River to potentially meet some of the demand, but it has limitations. 

For many users and nearby residents, the single greatest drawback of the Eastern Oval is it is a glorious 19th century sports ground marooned in an increasingly car-oriented modern city. For even the larger events such as the BFL grand final, the transport mode of choice remains the car and will be unless other alternatives can be offered.

This council plan discourages on-site car parking and simultaneously encourages improved pedestrian access from adjoining areas. 

As an ideal, this is valuable, but it will take considerable more work on these links, a wider urban integration and other transport options before it is a reality and the Eastern Oval can be all it could be.