Zoe Moffatt
The decreasing safety of the Gisborne Soccer Club’s Dixon Field pitch is throwing doubt on the club’s future.
In the depths of winter’s coldest months, Gisborne Soccer Club members are having to divert games from their waterlogged and muddy main pitch at Dixon Field, which they say is continuing to deteriorate.
Club president and former Socceroo Carl Valeri said just three millilitres of rain will waterlog the pitch and is a serious safety issue for players and the club.
“Every time it rains [the pitch] turns into mud… even with just three milliliters of rain it will retain water,” Mr Valeri said.
“It’s been an ongoing issue … since I’ve been at the club, which is for about five years now, it’s been continuously deteriorating … [and] now it’s at its worst point.
“We decided not to play there because it is unsafe and the players may be seriously injured. Literally you can sink into the mud and anything can happen.”
Mr Valeri said this ongoing issue is concerning especially considering the town’s growth, which Macedon Ranges council’s structure plan and urban design framework predicts will reach 20,454 residents by 2036.
“With an increase in members and the community of Gisborne growing, we’re finding more and more players and our main pitch is unpayable in the winter,” he said.
“We have about 400 members across all ages and we’re proud of that, but my fear is that as Gisborne and Macedon Ranges grow, we won’t be able to support the new players.
“This year we had four under-8 teams, next year we won’t be able to support that if the issues don’t get resolved.
“We don’t have a safe space … and so kids will miss out.”
Mr Valeri said the club has had to rent other pitches to play on, and while discussions with council have been more productive lately, the issue is still not getting resolved.
“We have been in dialogue with council and I must say council has been much more co-operative the last 12 months … however this problem has not been addressed.
“Right at this stage, we are almost at the point where we need to find an external solution and it’s going to cost money.
“It’s a shame … we have beautiful facilities and we just can’t use them.”
Macedon Ranges assets and operations director Shane Walden said council is aware of the challenges winter sporting clubs face regarding ground conditions.
“All grounds receive a range of treatments to improve drainage to support the longevity of grounds,” Mr Walden said.
“Council is developing detailed designs for pitch two and a small synthetic pitch … [and] has also allocated funding in the 2023-24 budget to undertake detailed design for pitch one improvements.”
