When the story surrounding North Melbourne's financial plight settles down, it's likely that the issue of playing home games in Ballarat will re-emerge. The stories will mention as a matter of course that North Melbourne's venue would be the Eureka Stadium in North Ballarat, but there are good arguments for alternatives.
These alternatives would certainly require funds from your coffers, but then Ballarat hosts two swinging seats, and you never know your luck in a growing city.
Simon Hughes, one of the world's leading experts on sports stadiums, once wrote that the best stadiums are those at the heart of the community they serve. The Eureka Stadium is not even in the centre of North Ballarat much less Ballarat. It's on the edge of the suburb and the edge of the town. It's an ugly stadium, exposed to the winds that whip in off the plains.
Until a decade ago there were no trees around the oval to offer shelter and aesthetic respite. This admittedly was not the fault of the North Ballarat footy club. The Ballarat Showgrounds committee of management was responsible for the reserve on which the Northern Oval was built. For too long the committee seemed to have a set against the footy club. While the Roosters thrived in terms of premierships, they were not allowed to make meaningful improvements to their ground until 1989 and they went ahead with planting trees only in 2002.
The Roosters' facilities are now among the best in the VFL; they're part of the reason the club has been able to win the past three flags. But facilities can also be improved at other venues. It's these options that North Melbourne — and the State Government — should at least investigate.
The City Oval is on the southern edge of Lake Wendouree and the Eastern Oval is in East Ballarat. Both ovals have served the Ballarat community since the gold miners laid down their pans in the mid- to late-19th century.
The City Oval's grandstand was completed in 1898. It's an enormous stand that is unusually distant from the oval because the playing field was once surrounded by a bike track. Much of the old bike track has been paved with tarmac. The paved area between the grandstand and the oval would offer the perfect setting for temporary seating.
Around the rest of the ground, much of the viewing area is cambered. Spectators could stand eight-deep and see the action without much trouble. The City Oval could cope with 12,000, or maybe even 15,000, if facilities like toilets were improved.
The Eastern Oval has a lesser capacity to hold a big crowd. There is not much breathing space around the ground and the grandstand (1904) is low, set back from one forward pocket. The ground was enlarged and facilities were improved during the 2001 renovations, but admittedly there would have to be a lot done before the AFL would agree to stage games there.
The great advantage of the Eastern Oval is that it's a Cam Richardson drop punt from the town's main train station. A new station has been opened at Wendouree, not so far from the Eureka Stadium, but fans who walk from Wendouree to Eureka Stadium would be walking away from the heart of the town. That is the crux of the matter here.
A century ago, Ballarat was split into two councils, the city of Ballarat and the city of East Ballarat. The City Oval was the sports centrepiece of one; the East Ballarat Oval the centerpiece of the other.
Of course those two councils are now united. If either the City Oval or the Eastern Oval were developed into AFL stadiums, the people of Ballarat would be united again.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
