Western Bulldogs and their partnership with Ballarat a success

[Freshwater]

Which is why Queensland gets the lion share of Federal pork barreling at each election. The politicians are practically falling over themselves to get there every election splashing money about on stadiums, highway upgrades, rail projects and the Olympics. Yet at the last Federal election campaign Albanese and Morrison spent a collective total of five days campaigning in Victoria not once venturing out of Melbourne. It speaks volumes about where their priorities are.

Regional Victoria and parts of Melbourne were reeling from flood damage from October 2022, roads were damaged across the state and many still not repaired in 2024. Yet the politicians gave the regions of Victoria a wide berth during the 2023 election. As many as 50% of the homes that were inundated in towns including Seymour, Heathcote, Rochester and Maroopna are still not habitable as I type this. Many virtually no repairs at all to date. As for the "State Flood Recovery Task Force", I think that the common vernacular used by affected residents rhymes with something like "A mob of runts".

I girlfriend of mine in Seymour had her home in High Street totally inundated. She only finally moved back in three weeks ago. She said to me recently that it would have been easier if her house had burnt down.

Yes, Dan Andrews and now Jacinta Allen are the Premier of Melbourne not Victoria. Ironic given they were from regional Victoria, but I suppose ideology and votes trumps doing what is necessary and right. Whilst Melbourne becomes an Asian megapolis, the rest of the state decays.

 

[Roogal]

In a different note, here are a couple of shots that show what the area now occupied by Mars Stadium looked like back when it was a trotting track. Very few images of precinct from this era exist. Virtually impossible to find.

The image below was an aerial taken during the 1961 Ballarat Show. The main oval today occupies the top portion of the showgrounds. The trotting track was quite small by modern standards and was only 550 m long. Built in 1950, lighting was added in 1952 for night harness racing to be conducted there every Friday night between 1952 - 1966 when the Ballarat Trotting Club relocated to a brand new facility in the suburb of Redan.






The image below was taken in 1954 when the M.B. Johns factory was under construction and clearly shows the goal posts where the centre of the track was used as an oval. It was one of the worst grounds in the city being always muddy and completely windy. Note that Wendouree barely existed back then (North of Howitt Street) apart from a new housing commission estate. Note White Avenue to the right of the showgrounds is still unsealed and many blocks hadn't been built upon. Another point of interest is the old dog racing track to the bottom right of the harness racing track that was known as Broadway Park. It was opened in 1934 and finally closed in 1978. Its curator was none other than Charlie "Plugger" Lockett (Tony's grand dad). Old Charlie lived in the yellow cottage with the red roof for many years.

Where the tin fence line along the bottom end of the trotting track was is where the North Ballarat Sports Club exists today.



Norman Street (mostly unsealed) with new homes just starting to extend along Dowling and Forrest Streets. The main M.B. Johns furnaces, foundry and Social Club were still under construction.



The then new Wendouree Oval is just to the back of the factory sheds below.

 

[Freshwater]

Another point of interest is the old dog racing track t

That’s cruel racing those old dogs gee the old days were harsh.

 

[Roogal]

That’s cruel racing those old dogs gee the old days were harsh.

It was a brutal time in our history. People were pretty tough back then.

I did neglect mention that all those pristine white roofs on the M.B. Johns buildings were made out of pure 100% asbestos.

 

[dogwatch]

The road between Victoria’s 2nd biggest city, Geelong and 3rd biggest, Ballarat is an absolute goat track, 80 odd km’s. Yet the road between Geelong and Colac is 76km’s dual lane perfect, right through the middle of Australia’s most marginal seat. Go figure. Don’t allow your region to be a safe seat no matter who is in power.

I think the primary reason is that the Geelong-Colac segment is on the main highway from Melbourne to the Twelve Apostles (big tourism attraction), Warrnambool, Portland and Adelaide (coastal route via Mt Gambier). I reckon it would carry a heap more traffic than the Geelong-Ballarat Rd and as such it would warrant widening - for economic and safety reasons - long before the Geelong-Ballarat Rd.

Of course there could be a pork barrelling component involved in there as well but we shouldn't always assume that's the main reason.

 

[Freshwater]

I think the primary reason is that the Geelong-Colac segment is on the main highway from Melbourne to the Twelve Apostles (big tourism attraction), Warrnambool, Portland and Adelaide (coastal route via Mt Gambier). I reckon it would carry a heap more traffic than the Geelong-Ballarat Rd and as such it would warrant widening - for economic and safety reasons - long before the Geelong-Ballarat Rd.

Of course there could be a pork barrelling component involved in there as well but we shouldn't always assume that's the main reason.

100% pork barrelling. Way more traffic and accidents on Midland Highway. Corangamite (was Australia’s most marginal seat), boundary has shifted a little but ran out through the road from Geelong to Colac.

 

[Roogal]

100% pork barrelling. Way more traffic and accidents on Midland Highway. Corangamite (was Australia’s most marginal seat), boundary has shifted a little but ran out through the road from Geelong to Colac.

The Geelong-Colac Road is part of Federal Highway 1 (Princess Highway), where as the Geelong-Ballarat road is part of a Class 2 State Highway (The Midland). That said, traffic on the Midland has doubled in just the last 20 years with Geelong's and Ballarat's populations having grown by 80,000 and 32,000 respectively in that time, yet no improvements have been made to widen it or include more overtaking lanes in that time.

 

[_Cerberus_]

The Geelong-Colac Road is part of Federal Highway 1 (Princess Highway), where as the Geelong-Ballarat road is part of a Class 2 State Highway (The Midland). That said, traffic on the Midland has doubled in just the last 20 years with Geelong's and Ballarat's populations having grown by 80,000 and 32,000 respectively in that time, yet no improvements have been made to widen it or include more overtaking lanes in that time.

My little town nested in between, has seen a lot of new estates in the past decade, I HATE it. Used to be able to drive around no worries. These days during school and post work times, I am stuck at intersections forever waiting for 100s of cars in a long line to go past before I can even get out. It will get worse.

The problem is, the governments seldom plan for the future ahead. They only react to "now" when it becomes a problem. By the time the said project is complete to improve the infrastructure, they already need another upgrade because the amount of users had doubled in that time. So its a permanent bottle neck of trying to keep up, instead of getting ahead.

There is only one two lane road, that is actually single lane most of the way, between Geelong and Ballarat. And other roads via Ballan/Bacchus Marsh, or around the western side through the volcanic zones, are littered with cracked and pot hole filled roads that get little love at all. I refuses to drive on them at night ever. So everyone heads to and crowds the one single road, which is the Midland.

 

[Ghenghis]

Why we are not trying to have more of our games played at Kardinia Park or the SCG is beyond me

 

[BallaratBulldog]

Why we are not trying to have more of our games played at Kardinia Park or the SCG is beyond me

The dogs were going to sign with KP/Geelong late in the Brendan Mccartney era. AFL was the one who said no. Probably because Ballarat was already in planning behind the scenes. I think Geelong took food and drink for themselves and maybe a major sponsor but gave us more than Marvel if above 10k and up to a mill if we got 20k. Memory might be slightly off on exact amount.

 

[Optimistic Dog]

This is potentially a big game to have at Mars possibly decide of final 8. I like the fact we have 2 games at Ballarat rather than playing games in Darwin or Cairns. However, unsure of the wisdom of making the second one the last game of the season with finals on the line. I know it is done at the start of the season but it was always a strong possibility this could happen with these teams. Could have been a Saturday night game at Marvel.

 

[Freshwater]

The dogs were going to sign with KP/Geelong late in the Brendan Mccartney era. AFL was the one who said no. Probably because Ballarat was already in planning behind the scenes. I think Geelong took food and drink for themselves and maybe a major sponsor but gave us more than Marvel if above 10k and up to a mill if we got 20k. Memory might be slightly off on exact amount.

It’s not even their (Geelong) ground anymore. The Kardinia Park Trust runs the ground now. The Cats can f$&k off getting the food and drink from our home game if we were to ever have one there? The Trust and the Cats don’t necessarily see eye to eye. I’m glad the Trust runs it because the cats never paid for it, we did.

 

[lachy]

This is potentially a big game to have at Mars possibly decide of final 8. I like the fact we have 2 games at Ballarat rather than playing games in Darwin or Cairns. However, unsure of the wisdom of making the second one the last game of the season with finals on the line. I know it is done at the start of the season but it was always a strong possibility this could happen with these teams. Could have been a Saturday night game at Marvel.

An issue entirely of our own making. Apparently the crowds were not sell out due to the time of the year so now they are at the warmer times of the year, can't blame the AFL for that though there are plenty of fixturing issues. We chose to sell home games wherever that may be.

It is interesting reading the comments about the crowds required to break even at Marvel. Any comparison pre the AFL owning and then taking over the operations of the stadium since 2020, those figures are irrelevant. Crowd wise to break even with a full house in Ballarat is now significantly lower.

Therefore, it comes down to what the State Government underwrite for us to play there from a financial perspective.

It is interesting no extension has been signed to the agreement expiring this year, possibly given the state finances

 

[BallaratBulldog]

An issue entirely of our own making. Apparently the crowds were not sell out due to the time of the year so now they are at the warmer times of the year, can't blame the AFL for that though there are plenty of fixturing issues. We chose to sell home games wherever that may be.

It is interesting reading the comments about the crowds required to break even at Marvel. Any comparison pre the AFL owning and then taking over the operations of the stadium since 2020, those figures are irrelevant. Crowd wise to break even with a full house in Ballarat is now significantly lower.

Therefore, it comes down to what the State Government underwrite for us to play there from a financial perspective.

It is interesting no extension has been signed to the agreement expiring this year, possibly given the state finances

unfortunately there is a never ending cycle - this time relating to AFL buying it early (instead of a few dollars at end of contract) and recouping and the redevelopment they did recently. It is supposed to be a bit better than it was though.

 

[lachy]

Why we are not trying to have more of our games played at Kardinia Park or the SCG is beyond me

Mainly as we no longer need to, we are not the dogs of 1989, 1996, 2003 or 2013 anymore.

Why we don't play 11 home games at Marvel or our 2 games away from Marvel are at the G for both finances and experience of big games at the G is beyond me

 

[LondonBulldog]

Mainly as we no longer need to, we are not the dogs of 1989, 1996, 2003 or 2013 anymore.

Why we don't play 11 home games at Marvel or our 2 games away from Marvel are at the G for both finances and experience of big games at the G is beyond me

Play a practise match there, keep a connection to the region but gee wiz if you can't jump on a vline from Ballarat to Marvel 1 hour and 15 minutes what's the point of trying to chase members there. I'll support the club yet I reckon 80% of members would prefer Marvel or Marque MCG games instead.

 

[Hoges64]

I think the primary reason is that the Geelong-Colac segment is on the main highway from Melbourne to the Twelve Apostles (big tourism attraction), Warrnambool, Portland and Adelaide (coastal route via Mt Gambier). I reckon it would carry a heap more traffic than the Geelong-Ballarat Rd and as such it would warrant widening - for economic and safety reasons - long before the Geelong-Ballarat Rd.

Of course there could be a pork barrelling component involved in there as well but we shouldn't always assume that's the main reason.

Can guarantee you NO funding hits that road between Warrnambool and Portland. If it does it goes into someone's pocket, not the potholes. Same for the road the other side of Portland to the SA border. Road gets a lot better once you pass over that imaginary line.

 

[Pugz89]

Can guarantee you NO funding hits that road between Warrnambool and Portland. If it does it goes into someone's pocket, not the potholes. Same for the road the other side of Portland to the SA border. Road gets a lot better once you pass over that imaginary line.

They're even widening the highway literally soon as you cross the border. Although I suspect because it is the M1, it is technically a Federal responsibility.

 

[Roogal]

Play a practise match there, keep a connection to the region but gee wiz if you can't jump on a vline from Ballarat to Marvel 1 hour and 15 minutes what's the point of trying to chase members there. I'll support the club yet I reckon 80% of members would prefer Marvel or Marque MCG games instead.

Let's put boot on the other foot here. People from regional Victoria seriously prefer to avoid a trip to Melbourne like the plague. I'm not kidding. If we are forced to attend the football in Melbourne, then Marvel is likely our preferred option because it is accessible by every train service in Victoria irrespective of where one lives in Melbourne or wider Victoria, whereas the MCG isn't. You have to change trains at Southern Cross to get to the G when coming from either the North or the West. However, I do note that only the more populated areas of regional Victoria have access to passenger train services.

Therefore, most people from country Victoria are happier going to games in Geelong and at Ballarat because they are more accessible by car. Whilst it only takes about 50 minutes to get from Ballarat to the outskirts of Melbourne, but the unbearable fun begins at Caroline Springs as people unaccustomed to traffic jams, a never-ending bottle neck of freeway reconstructions, enduring an entire metropolis full of drivers (well people with licences) who don't know how to stay in a single lane and who haven't mastered the noble art of merging properly onto and off a freeway, added to this the joy of finding affordable car parking, have to navigate just to watch a game of football. Now some people moan about the parking at Mars Stadium, but at least it's free and it's no further to walk from Dowling or Norman Streets as what it is to walk from the Convention Centre to Marvel. That said, some people just love to complain, for the sake of complaining. It might take ten minutes to clear the road traffic around Mars after a game, but that still beats the crap out of the bottleneck of roadworks and confusing interchanges along the Westgate Freeway ... Much less putting up with Melbourne's "DRIVERS" as we spend another joy-filled 40 minutes clearing the city

Then, don't get me started on the prices of the food and drinks at Melbourne games. Goodness me, they might as well be playing the damn games at Melbourne Airport.

Suddenly a game of football in Melbourne isn't so appealing, is it?

 

[lachy]

Let's put boot on the other foot here. People from regional Victoria seriously prefer to avoid a trip to Melbourne like the plague. I'm not kidding. If we are forced to attend the football in Melbourne, then Marvel is likely our preferred option because it is accessible by every train service in Victoria irrespective of where one lives in Melbourne or wider Victoria, whereas the MCG isn't. You have to change trains at Southern Cross to get to the G when coming from either the North or the West. However, I do note that only the more populated areas of regional Victoria have access to passenger train services.

Therefore, most people from country Victoria are happier going to games in Geelong and at Ballarat because they are more accessible by car. Whilst it only takes about 50 minutes to get from Ballarat to the outskirts of Melbourne, but the unbearable fun begins at Caroline Springs as people unaccustomed to traffic jams, a never-ending bottle neck of freeway reconstructions, enduring an entire metropolis full of drivers (well people with licences) who don't know how to stay in a single lane and who haven't mastered the noble art of merging properly onto and off a freeway, added to this the joy of finding affordable car parking, have to navigate just to watch a game of football. Now some people moan about the parking at Mars Stadium, but at least it's free and it's no further to walk from Dowling or Norman Streets as what it is to walk from the Convention Centre to Marvel. That said, some people just love to complain, for the sake of complaining. It might take ten minutes to clear the road traffic around Mars after a game, but that still beats the crap out of the bottleneck of roadworks and confusing interchanges along the Westgate Freeway ... Much less putting up with Melbourne's "DRIVERS" as we spend another joy-filled 40 minutes clearing the city

Then, don't get me started on the prices of the food and drinks at Melbourne games. Goodness me, they might as well be playing the damn games at Melbourne Airport.

Suddenly a game of football in Melbourne isn't so appealing, is it?

If this is true, why are Ballarat games rarely sold out yet our worst attendances at Marvel since Covid for example would sell out Ballarat twice over? Why are trains from Ballarat just as full for a home game at Marvel as they are too Ballarat?

 

[Scott Tracy]

We played Crows in the final round of 2019 in Ballarat which we had to win to make finals. We've done it before.

I'd still prefer to play both the QLD teams in Ballarat rather than the SA, NSW teams. I'd back us there any-day against this Brisbane team.

We have a 5-0 record there against Gold Coast and Brisbane compared to a 3-4 record against SA, NSW teams.

 

[LondonBulldog]

Let's put boot on the other foot here. People from regional Victoria seriously prefer to avoid a trip to Melbourne like the plague. I'm not kidding. If we are forced to attend the football in Melbourne, then Marvel is likely our preferred option because it is accessible by every train service in Victoria irrespective of where one lives in Melbourne or wider Victoria, whereas the MCG isn't. You have to change trains at Southern Cross to get to the G when coming from either the North or the West. However, I do note that only the more populated areas of regional Victoria have access to passenger train services.

Therefore, most people from country Victoria are happier going to games in Geelong and at Ballarat because they are more accessible by car. Whilst it only takes about 50 minutes to get from Ballarat to the outskirts of Melbourne, but the unbearable fun begins at Caroline Springs as people unaccustomed to traffic jams, a never-ending bottle neck of freeway reconstructions, enduring an entire metropolis full of drivers (well people with licences) who don't know how to stay in a single lane and who haven't mastered the noble art of merging properly onto and off a freeway, added to this the joy of finding affordable car parking, have to navigate just to watch a game of football. Now some people moan about the parking at Mars Stadium, but at least it's free and it's no further to walk from Dowling or Norman Streets as what it is to walk from the Convention Centre to Marvel. That said, some people just love to complain, for the sake of complaining. It might take ten minutes to clear the road traffic around Mars after a game, but that still beats the crap out of the bottleneck of roadworks and confusing interchanges along the Westgate Freeway ... Much less putting up with Melbourne's "DRIVERS" as we spend another joy-filled 40 minutes clearing the city

Then, don't get me started on the prices of the food and drinks at Melbourne games. Goodness me, they might as well be playing the damn games at Melbourne Airport.

Suddenly a game of football in Melbourne isn't so appealing, is it?

If your a tragic like me and my family you do it. I live in Torquay and travel 1 hour 40min each way to the games.

It sounds good in theory, people in the surrounding areas can go to Ballarat yet is that reality. Crowds are low and suggest it just people like me who go to Marvelous make the trip to Ballarat. I'm sure the club could provide some stats based on barcodes but they haven't so that to me suggests we are not capturing any new market, or if we have its tiny.

 

[Hoges64]

It's an 8 1/2 hour round trek from SW Victoria (Portland) to Marvel, 6 1/2 to Mars, and basically 9 to the MCG (not that we did that one much because we don't play home games there), but the wife and I did it relentlessly from 2014 to 2019 until we moved to Cairns.

Shame on anyone who says "it's too far from Melbourne to Ballarat" to go watch games at Mars.

 

[MYOB]

🎟 Tickets on-sale details:

Members: Thursday 15th August. 12pm AEST
General Public: Friday 16th of August. 12pm AEST

 

[Libbaaaa]

No shade to Ballarat but shame this game isn't at Marvel, would have been the 3.20pm Sunday game and gotten 40k+ easy to it.