Featured image credit: Melbourne City FC
A-League club Melbourne City FC and NRL team Melbourne Storm have welcomed a A$10.68m (£5.2m/€6.2m/$6.7m) funding commitment from the Labor Party towards the construction of a new rectangular stadium at the Casey Fields complex.
The funding is contingent on the outcome of the upcoming federal election in Australia. The proposed facility, which will be known as Casey Mini Stadium, would include a natural turf pitch, grandstand seating on the western perimeter, and modern amenities for community and elite-level sport.
Melbourne City said the development would address the growing demand for quality rectangular venues in the state of Victoria, following the surge in popularity of women’s football after the success of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
The stadium would serve as the new home of Melbourne City’s women’s team and would also host junior representative matches for the Storm. The stadium would also be a possible venue for future NRL trial matches or NRLW matches.
A joint announcement for the funding was attended by Melbourne City chief executive Brad Rowse and Melbourne Storm chief executive Justin Rodski, along with government ministers and Mayor of Casey Stefan Koomen.
Rowse said: “As the sport with the highest junior participation numbers in Australia, Melbourne City FC welcomes any commitment to build essential sporting infrastructure that supports the pathway from grassroots right through to elite competitions.
“Should this funding be confirmed after the federal election, Casey Mini Stadium would serve as a vital hub for our youth academy and elite teams, while delivering facilities of the highest quality for local clubs and communities.
“With women’s football on the rise, the stadium would serve as the dedicated home for our A-League Women’s team, delivering a venue that shines as a beacon for the women’s game. It would also showcase our youth academy and offer potential for Australia Cup and pre-season fixtures for our men’s team.”
Rodski added: “This new proposed mini stadium will deliver significant benefits to the growing rugby league community in the Casey region and provide Storm with an alternate venue to host elite content in the future. Our junior pathways programmes are fast outgrowing the facilities we have at AAMI Park and in Broadmeadows and we see this proposed venue as strategically important for the ongoing development of our game.
“If built, this will be a high-quality venue that will be used by local community sport and also serve as a training hub for Storm’s male and female pathways into the future. Both rugby league and football need facilities to keep up with the growing demand of both sports, particularly in the southeast, and we believe this sort of facility is needed to give all athletes the best chance to develop and one day pull on the Storm jersey.”
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