Albany sports centre images released

Albany’s world-class sporting precinct will push the city into an enviable position as a likely frontrunner to host AFL pre-season matches by 2017.

The City of Albany has unveiled the first images of the long-awaited designs of the Centennial Park Sporting Precinct redevelopment, which, after being talked about for 40 years, is now only months away from construction beginning on the major assets, including an AFL-standard stadium and shared cricket and soccer clubrooms.

The City hopes the centrepiece stadium will act as “welcome statement” and allow them to bid for AFL pre-season matches once construction is completed by 2016. The AFL last month overlooked all WA towns for the 2015 NAB Challenge, with 15 of the 27 matches held at non-AFL venues around the country, excluding WA due to the facilities not being to the required standard.

Following the completion of the schematic design phase by Perth-based architects Gresley Abas, with consultation from the key sport stakeholders, the project will now move into a detailed design stage before going out to tender in February.

As reported exclusively in the Albany Advertiser in May, the Royals and Albany football clubs will be co-tenants of the main stadium in the centre of the AFL Heartland on the eastern precinct.

The “welcoming” and “subtle” building will be accessed from ground level, surrounded by trees that will also provide shelter around the city end of the ground, which will be lit to AFL standard.

Days of limited and substandard spectator viewing points at Centennial Oval will be a thing of the past with high glass windows and sheltered terraced seating providing an elevated viewing experience.

The country football tradition of having cars parked around the ground will remain.City of Albany recreation services manager Samantha Stevens said the partnership forged by Royals and Albany was “extraordinary”.

“They are the first clubs in WA to co-locate like this and we have really enjoyed working with them,” she said.

“It has been fantastic seeing the sport work together.”

WA Football Commission Great Southern regional manager Tom Moir said the region would lobby hard for AFL and WAFL matches.

“You would like to think with a brand new facility we would be relatively confident of getting a game in the future,” he said.

Linking the AFL Heartland to the central and western precincts will be a central spine for active recreation pursuits. In the western precinct, the new clubrooms for cricket and soccer will overlook redeveloped playing grounds.

“Deep verandas and plenty of viewing space” are highlights of the shared cricket and soccer clubrooms, which enables spectators to look out over two grounds.

Three turf cricket wickets will remain with no overlap of grounds.

Soccer will have three lit fields, two more than they do now, while the new field behind the PCYC is the size of three training grounds.

Ms Stevens said stakeholders now had a mood of “absolute excitement”.

“What I love about it is we now have a plan which is a community-driven project,” she said.

The $26 million of secured funding will be allocated to the two main clubrooms, centrepiece stadium and upgraded playing surfaces and lighting.

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