The Club advises that the AFL have re-scheduled this weekend’s Coburg home game against Footscray, due to the condition of Piranha Park.
The game will now be played at 12.30pm at VU Whitten Oval, 417 Barkly St, Footscray on Saturday 24thAugust.
Coburg FC General Manager Sebastian Spagnuolo states:
“Following the recent wet weather and coupled by the fact that the ground has had a lot more traffic and community usage throughout Winter and the football season, the AFL sent out their turf consultant to inspect our ground on Wednesday and declared the surface unfit for state league football this weekend.
“This is very disappointing for the following reasons:
* The game was to be our last home game at Piranha Park till the 2021 season due to the redevelopment of the venue taking place in 2020.
* The game was to be our 10thand final home game for 2019
* Our Club loses significant match day revenue streams which are crucial in meeting VFL football and club requirements.
* Our members and supporters lose the opportunity of attending state league football at their local venue and accessing the array of amenities and entertainment that they usually enjoy.
“We will now work with the Moreland City Council to address the ground surface issues at Piranha Park and discuss what measures can be undertaken to improve the playing surface for state league football in 2020 and beyond. Hopefully if we work together effectively, we won’t have to face this situation again. This is especially important given the recent media focus on state league Clubs’ credentials for inclusion in the second tier AFL football competition.
Whilst it’s very disappointing to have this happen at state league level, we understand that the decision was made for the health and safety of the completing teams’ players and umpires, so we don’t argue with that at all.
On behalf of the club’s Executive and Board of Directors, we apologise to our members, sponsors, players and staff that this issue has arisen and we will do what we can to achieve outcomes that protect us from these situations in the future”
“Finally, we are very grateful for the support given by Western Bulldogs Football Club in making VU Whitten Oval available to host our VFL game on Saturday.
We thank all our stakeholders for their understanding at this time, and look forward to having everyone’s support at VU Whitten Oval as we take on Footscray at 12.30pm on Saturday August 24th.”
Updated game details:
Coburg v Footscray
VU Whitten Oval, Footscray
12.30pm game start
Coburg FC members get in free when producing your 2019 membership card
