BALLARAT will be home to more elite football should the Western Bulldogs gain a licence for the AFL’s new national women’s league.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Bulldogs are one of 13 clubs that have applied for a spot in the competition, which is set to be launched early next year.
Western Bulldogs chief executive Dave Stevenson told The Courier playing women’s matches at Eureka Stadium was part of the club’s submission to the AFL.
”It’s actually 20 years this year since we moved from being the Footscray Bulldogs to the Western Bulldogs and that was really a shift that took us from one suburb being Footscray to a region of western Melbourne,” Stevenson said.
“And we believe this expansion into Ballarat is really that next step of going from western Melbourne to western Victoria.
“So in being reflective of our commitment to that region, particularly in Ballarat, we wanted to make sure that we, in our proposal, included games that we would like to be played at Eureka Stadium, as well as Etihad (Stadium) and Whitten Oval.”
Stevenson said early indications were that the Eureka Stadium grandstand project won’t be completed by the start of the 2017 women’s season, which he believes is likely to be held throughout February and March.
“We may also play a game without the stadium being fully developed,” he said.
“We would love to explore all opportunities to play in Ballarat.”
With the Western Bulldogs already committed to AFL matches in Ballarat as soon as next season, Stevenson said there is the potential for a women’s clash to be played as a curtain-raiser to a game for premiership points.
But he said given the expectation that the women’s season would be held early in the year, a curtain-raiser to a NAB Challenge match was more likely.
Ballarat has a strong tie to the Bulldogs’ women’s team through export Kaitlyn Ashmore, who joined the club last year.
“A big part of what we are trying to do is really create those heroes,” Stevenson said.
“She’s a fantastic player, we love having her as a part of the club and she’s really committed to developing the game in Ballarat.”