Melbourne needs more sports ovals, but we need to get it right

Right around the corner from my house is JJ Holland Park, one of the best parks in the City of Melbourne.

The park has three sports ovals, and as our community knows, they are very well used. On any given afternoon or weekend morning, you can find kids playing soccer, footy, cricket, LARPing or live-action role-playing, and a whole host of other activities.

We’re lucky to have these great facilities, but across our city, it’s becoming harder and harder for sports clubs to find places for kids to play. Sports fields are booked out, and for sports like netball, kids are missing out on training or having to travel long distances to practice due to the lack of facilities.

As an inner-city electorate with a growing population, Melbourne has a real need for more sports grounds and infrastructure. But space is limited, and we need to find creative solutions. The opening of the refurbished Kensington Rec Centre will help, but the need is so great that pressure is now also being put on places like Royal Park to turn natural and passive recreational areas into sport fields.

I believe that with proper planning we can have more sports fields without eating into the most precious parts of Royal Park, or compromising the passive recreation space that we all need to thrive.

We need spaces to walk our dogs off-leash, places to sit and reflect, exercise and run or play spontaneous games, as well as organised sport. We can get the balance right and do this well, but only if the government plans well, and right now I’m worried the Labor Government is not doing this important work.

For example, the new Arden development is going to house tens of thousands of people but the State Labor Government has only planned two sports fields. I’m calling on the government to fast-track the development of these spaces so that we can use them now, not in 10 years, and to build more community and sporting facilities at Arden to keep up with demand.

The community and experts have also proposed other creative solutions.

The City of Melbourne is looking at lights for Oval 2 in JJ Holland Park and a new scoreboard on Oval 1, so more sport can be played or practiced after hours, especially during winter months.

Another idea that I’m pushing for is for our local schools to open up for after-hours use. Infrastructure Victoria supports this but the State Labor Government needs to provide incentives for schools so they can manage any extra security or cleaning that may be needed to make this happen, as well as the interaction with after-school care programs.

It can be done, if the government supported and encouraged schools to make it happen. I’ve written to the Minister for Education about this.

If you have other ideas about how we can increase access to sports ovals and sporting facilities in the electorate of Melbourne I want to hear from you! •