The club has been informed that it will be at least July before the pitch at Prince of Wales Park is ready for foot traffic, which has the club now bracing for the potential for a full season on the road.

When the State League fixture is released later this month, it is expected that Westvic will have the entirety of the first half of the season as away games.

Its second half of the season will be fixtured in Ballarat, however there is a strong potential it may have to move all its home games to another venue, most likely Footscray, if wet weather causes further delays in the pitch.

The delay, which is believed to have been caused by concerns on the stability of the ground underneath, also means Hockey Ballarat will have to schedule its local season predominantly at Ballarat Grammar, but the lack of lighting at that venue means games might need to be shortened to cater for the lack of light in winter.

For Westvic, the loss of a home venue for at the least the first half of the season could not have come at a worse time. Both the men and women will play in State League 1 this season after the men earned promotion thanks to a dominant season in State League 2 last year, and the women finished mid-table in their first season at State League 1.

Westvic men's coach Ned Jackson said while the squads had come together well, and the expectation was for a strong season on the pitch, it loomed as a tough year of travel.

"We've requested our away games to be in the first half of the year," he said. "Hockey Victoria has asked us for a back-up, and Footscray Hockey Centre would be similar, it's similar to the pitch we had last year and it's not too far to travel.

"It's not going to be an easy year. The amount of travel is a bit of a concern, but you could see it happening - when work hadn't started at Christmas, you knew it was unlikely we'd get on early this year."

Hockey Ballarat president Cristin Ruyg said this season loomed as a "short-term pain for a long-term gain".

"Our plan at the moment, it's not finalised yet, but we hope to utilise the pitch at Ballarat Grammar," she said.

"The lack of lighting will be a challenge and we are looking at options to overcome those. Our closest hockey pitches like-for-like is Melton or Geelong.

"The last few seasons we've already had one or two games a week at Grammar because we haven't had that capacity at Prince of Wales. We are hoping we can utilise that facility until Prince of Wales is available.

"Because Westvic is away throughout the year, we should get some time back on a Saturday, so hopefully we can get through."

Ruyg said council had been supportive of keeping the season alive and was working through arrangements with Hockey Ballarat and clubs. She said talks continue in regards to a possible second pitch at some stage.

"We've made it clear we are in need of a second pitch," she said. "Our numbers show it's needed when you match it up against Hockey Victoria regulations in terms of membership numbers and population size.

"Ballarat is not only well overdue for a second pitch, but a third should be considered as well."

City of Ballarat community wellbeing director, Matt Wilson, said the replacement of the existing synthetic hockey pitch surface at Prince of Wales Park was taking longer than initially expected due to assessments of the subgrade structure underneath the synthetic surface.

"We are working as quickly as possible to finish the project, which is now expected to be completed in July," he said.

"We acknowledge the situation is not perfect for the local hockey community and thank them for their patience. We are working to secure suitable alternative match day and training facilities in Ballarat that can be used while the resurfacing occurs.

"Consultation will soon begin as part of a Prince of Wales Park masterplan, which among other options, will explore the possibility of additional hockey facilities within the precinct."