ALFREDTON Recreation Reserve will host Central Highlands football and netball grand finals in 2016.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
After plenty of discussion around finding a replacement for traditional home Eureka Stadium, the venue for the September 10 deciders has finally been confirmed.
The Central Highlands Football League board was forced into finding an alternative after learning that works on the new grandstand at the North Ballarat facility meant that ground was unavailable for the competition’s biggest day.
In a statement on the league’s website, it outlines the decision to opt for Alfredton followed a “lengthy consultation process with the assistance of the Ballarat City Council”.
CHFL president Eddy Comelli thanked the Ballarat Football League and Ballarat Football Netball Club – which play home games at Aldredton – for their assistance in securing the venue.
Comelli said the process took so long because the league wanted to provide the footballers with the best playing surface.
“It’s high quality. Fantastic,” he said.
“There’s plenty of parking and there’s good access for everything we need to get into the ground for the day.”
Comelli said there had been numerous venues discussed, including City Oval, Eastern Oval and Learmonth.
“...once the Eureka option was ruled out, we probably looked at two or three other options in Ballarat and around our grounds and this (Alfredton) appears to be the best option,” Comelli said.
This year will be the first time the CHFL senior grand final has been played away from Eureka Stadium since it was held at Learmonth in 1999.
Comelli told The Courier that Eureka Stadium was the desired venue for grand final day in 2017.
“That’s our preferred option, but who knows?,” he said.
Alfredton Recreation Reserve was given a full redevelopment at the end of last season.