By Denise Sharon cahill, Western Suburbs Weekly
SUBIACO Oval could become a State Football Centre of Excellence and be used as a training base for talent academy teams, and AFL and WAFL umpires.
WA Football Commission (WAFC) facilities director Geoff Glass said while maintaining Subiaco Oval as the home of football and ensuring the new stadium at Burswood met football’s needs were the current priorities, the commission would explore options for redevelopment “at the right time”.
“The WAFC expects that when the planned Perth major stadium is operating at Burswood, (Subiaco Oval) will still be the home of the WAFC and West Coast Eagles,” Mr Glass said.
Subiaco Football Club (SFC) chief executive Peter Capes said the club had not had any discussions about a possible future at Subiaco Oval.
City of Subiaco Mayor Heather Henderson said the City last talked to the WAFC about the oval in 2011 but was doubtful SFC would move its home from Leederville to Subiaco.
“I don’t think that’s on the cards and I think financially the Subiaco Football Club are happy where they are in sharing Leederville with East Perth,” Mrs Henderson said.
The same goes for the WA Cricket Association, with chief executive Christina Matthews saying its East Perth base was the home for cricket in WA and Subiaco Oval did not have International Cricket Council (ICC) accreditation to host matches.
“There are significant issues in regards to meeting ICC requirements that would require considerable financial investment and at this stage, we believe that investment is better spent at the WACA,” Ms Matthews said.
However, she said the WACA was involved in the planning stages of the new Burswood stadium and had expressed interest in hosting limited-overs matches at the new facility.