St Joseph's College Echuca’s Billy Sutton, Jett Avard, principal Anne Marie Cairns, Charlie Haw and Eden Maddison.
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AFL Victoria and St Joseph’s College Echuca unveiled their partnership in the development of the school’s new football facility at the Kildare Campus on Monday, December 2.
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The announcement is part of AFL Victoria’s ‘Breaking New Ground’ program to develop ovals on school sites and other innovative locations, with the St Joseph’s project and Wanganui Oval in Shepparton the first to be announced.
The project aligns with the ‘Australian Football Infrastructure Plan: Towards 2030’, in which the AFL has committed to building or developing an oval a week every week to keep up with the growth of community football and the need to increase facility capacity.
The facility will be at St Joseph’s new Kildare Campus, which hosts students from years 7 to 9. To go along with the new campus, a sporting precinct has been constructed, which will include an MCG-sized oval.
School principal Anne Marie Cairns highlighted the impact the collaboration with AFL Victoria would have on students and the entire Echuca-Moama community.
“A central focus of this plan is to promote a healthy and active environment for both our students and the local community,” she said.
“Football, with its unique ability to unite people, will play a key role in fostering community connections. By providing a high-quality oval, we aim to strengthen these bonds.
“We are dedicated to nurturing these partnerships, ensuring they support not only our students but also the youth of Echuca-Moama.
“We are excited about the future of this project and the opportunities it will bring, ensuring the continued growth and success of the game in Echuca Moama and surrounding districts for generations to come.”
Representatives from AFL Victoria, Echuca Junior Football Club and St Joseph’s College Echuca gathered at the Kildare campus to unveil the partnership.
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The oval, which will be primarily used for Australian rules football, was announced in June and a partnership between the school and Echuca Junior Football Club was reached to use the new oval for training and games.
This comes as the 250 junior participants and Echuca Football Club seniors, reserves and under-18s all using Victoria Park for training and games has become too much for one ground to handle.
“The conception and completion of the new playing surface and lighting allows our junior program to expand further, providing participation experiences, pathways and inclusion for all players, coaches and families,” Echuca Football Netball Club junior section representative Stuart Addicott said.
While the new oval itself is already in development, AFL Victoria has approved a contribution of $200,000 towards 100 lux lighting around the ground to make night training and games a possibility.
EJFC will also contribute the remainder of lighting costs and potential future infrastructure around the oval.
The oval is expected to be ready for use by about March 2025.
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