Kangaroos promised training oval upgrade - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Kangaroos promised training oval upgrade

By Sam Lienert 05/08/2010 06:09:55 PM Comments (0)

North Melbourne will get a $1.9 million upgrade of their Arden St training oval, which will make it the same size as Etihad Stadium, if Labor wins the federal election.

If the Gillard government is re-elected on August 21, work on the new oval will begin at the end of this season, and is expected to take 16 to 20 weeks.

That would require the Kangaroos to find an alternative pre-season training base, but coach Brad Scott said that was a small sacrifice given the benefit from a better standard oval.

"It makes an enormous difference, the ground's a little bit too small for AFL standard at the moment and with a wet Melbourne winter it starts to struggle a little bit," Scott said.

"So to have a ground with the dimensions of Etihad Stadium and an elite surface will be a great boost for the players.

"... We'll have another training base over the pre-season, but it's only for a three-month period and to get an elite AFL standard surface, we're prepared to train somewhere else for three months and then come back and use this ground in season."

Kangaroos chief executive Eugene Arocca called the mooted improvements the "last piece of the jigsaw puzzle", after the recent completion of a $15.15 million facility on the site.

The revamp will include the installation of better drainage and irrigation infrastructure, and a more drought-tolerant grass.

New interchange benches, goal posts, fences and seating will also be built, as well as new boxes for timekeepers, coaches, and scorers.

"We needed an oval and a facility that could engage the community and provide our players with an elite surface," Arocca said.

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