Middle Park FC, supported by Football Victoria, is leading a call for coordinated investment in Albert Park Reserve to ensure one of Victoria’s busiest community sporting precincts can continue to provide safe, accessible and fit-for-purpose facilities for all clubs and community users.
The club is calling for investment into Albert Park Reserve to upgrade the facilities supporting its growing football community, including the redevelopment of the Cox Mckenzie pavilion, replacement of synthetic surfaces and improved lighting.
Middle Park FC is part of one of Melbourne’s busiest community sporting precincts, with Albert Park supporting 30 clubs, more than 6,000 participants and 260 teams across 16 sports. The precinct attracts around 300,000 visits each year.
Growing participation and intensive use are placing increasing pressure on infrastructure that was not designed for today’s demand. A coordinated precinct-wide response would benefit sporting clubs, participants, volunteers, families, park visitors and the broader community
The final Albert Park Sports Management Plan provides a long-term framework for the efficient and sustainable use of the precinct’s sporting assets. Its principles include accessible, inviting and safe infrastructure; diverse participation; sustainability and climate resilience; shared facilities; and a precinct-wide approach to investment that maximises community benefit.
Drawing on its own experience of ageing infrastructure and growing participation demand, Middle Park FC is advocating for a precinct-wide response. Its priorities - including redevelopment of the Cox McKenzie pavilion, renewal of synthetic fields and improved lighting - demonstrate the practical improvements required across Albert Park.
Middle Park FC President Megan Drysdale said the club was proud to lead advocacy for investment that would benefit the entire Albert Park sporting community.
“We are speaking from our own experience, but this is bigger than Middle Park FC. Better pavilions, playing surfaces and lighting would make community sport safer and more accessible and create more opportunities for women, girls, juniors and other underrepresented groups across the precinct,” Drysdale said.
Delivering the Plan’s recommended actions would help address ageing pavilions, lighting, playing surfaces, turf, drainage, accessibility and shared-use capacity, while supporting the efficient and sustainable use of the precinct over the next 15 to 20 years.
Drysdale said Middle Park FC wanted to help build momentum behind the Plan and work alongside other clubs, Parks Victoria and government to translate the precinct-wide framework into practical improvements. Drysdale said investment would help the club work towards its ambition of achieving a 50/50 participation balance by 2030, supported by stronger junior and female programs.
“Our club is ready to lead this conversation and advocate alongside the wider Albert Park sporting community. Participation is growing across the precinct, but many facilities have not kept pace with demand,” she said.
“Investment guided by the Sports Management Plan can improve access and inclusion across multiple sports. We want our advocacy to help secure lasting benefits for every club and community user at Albert Park.”
Football Victoria Head of Government Relations & Facilities Lachlan Cole said investment at Albert Park was needed to ensure infrastructure kept pace with the role the precinct plays in the local community alongside major events such as the Grand Prix.
“Albert Park is already one of Melbourne’s great community sporting precincts. The opportunity now is to make sure the infrastructure matches the demand at all levels,” Cole said.
“Middle Park FC is a great example of why we need to keep investing in the infrastructure behind participation growth,” Cole said.
“The demand is there, but we don’t want to see players turned away in one of Melbourne’s most important precincts. What is needed now is the investment to make sure all clubs within Albert Park have facilities that are safe, functional and capable of supporting high levels of participation”.
The Albert Park Sports Management Plan has already identified the priority areas for improvement, now the call is for all levels of Government to work with the Albert Park sporting community to turn those priorities into delivered projects.