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Whitten Oval Redevelopment Plans (UPDATE: No AFL Games)
- Thread starter cecil
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blagodellago
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blagodellago
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Still looks weird having that extra space behind goals at indoor field end though imo.
It may look weird but it was left for several reasons with the big one being so that the Barkly St end doesn't become "dead" as the Royle Parade end at Princes Park has become...
If you haven't been to a game at Princes Park recently spectators are essentially limited to sitting in the Legends Stand with the Royle Parade end essentially off-limits and the Ald. Gardiner Stand is only used if a large crowd is expected. As you can see from the image above there is no cheer squad and only club staff viewing from the Royle Parade end. It really has lost some of its charm and if the Whitten Oval was aligned up to the new Indoor Training Centre and the refurbished Elite Learning Centre the same problem will occur. Leaving the extra space behind the goals allows for cheers squads at both ends, standing room at the Barkly St end and allowing spectators to walk the entire way around the oval. It also allows as Libaaaa said the club to redraw the dimensions to essentially any ground in the competition so we can adapt to it.
What has been done is that the pockets have been shaved and the entire ground pushed slightly further away from the broadcast side along with the regrading over the surface...
- Oct 30, 2014
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A little tiered alum/steel ‘grand stand’ would work well. One the public can walk under so they can still get around. This would really look good on match days, be much better viewing, because that end was very difficult to see up the other end. And add atmosphere. Whitten oval was never the best viewing ground and had become worse when last redevelopment happened because the EJ Whitten stand wasn’t even facing the oval properly and had dropped a bit behind the oval too.
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Would be a nice boost to have captains run on WO before taking on the cats
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That's some welcome news. Surely that's going to boost the morale. Excitement levels through the roof in time for four consecutive games under the roof.
Couldn't the indoor field stay where it is and boundary brought in closer to goals. Would open up the space a bit more between boundary and indoor training field.
I'll try and get an answer as to why they chose the way they did but there is still a long way to go with boundary line fences and pedestrian paths still missing. Once they get it added it should look a lot tidier.
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Anyone get an answer is to why there is such a large gap between the goals and fence at the barkley st end, looks ridiculous. (like a soccer pitch on a footy oval).
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Adjustment of the oval at any time
So if there is damage to the oval, they can move it forward for game day etc
dogwatch
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Isn't there also an intent to conform as closely as possible to the dimensions of Marvel and Mars ovals? The Western/Whitten Oval used to be the longest ground in the VFL so there had to be some shortening of the playing field.
Yes but this is my point, why not just bring the fence in to match the dimensions of Marvel, which then allows for more spectators behind the goals. At the moment is just looks odd.
dogwatch
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I guess it's for the reasons given by VD. They would certainly have considered that option. Either for spectators or for some additional facilities.
If they see it more as a training facility than a performance venue then I can see why they went the way they did. There's nothing stopping them centring the playing arena lengthwise at some point in the future for an important televised game. i.e. They could leave half that space behind the goals at either end of the ground.
- Oct 30, 2014
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Agree totally. Just make it 160 metres long, roughly the same as MCG, Docklands and Perth and create some tiered seating behind those goals. I hope after all this money and effort has been spent on Whitten oval it is better than what we had? Not just for luxury but volume and better oriented. That build that went behind those goals was a poor design choice with lack of future vision some years back, 15#??
Still awaiting for final confirmation but as mentioned several times in the posts above the reason is almost certainly so the Barkly St end doesn't become like the Royle Parade end at Princes Park which is essentially dead with no supporters allowed. My understanding is that the plan has always been to allow spectators and a cheer squad on the grass area behind the goals as it was during AFLW matches prior to COVID.
As you can see in redevelopment renders/plans for WO there is a secondary boundary fence just behind the goals for spectators and a full cheer squad, unlike Princes Park. At the moment it just looks odd as construction is still ongoing and it looks very barren at the Barkly St end but once the match day pavilion, paths, etc, etc are done it will come up a treat but again I'll try and get a full explanation from the club on their reasoning.
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