Maribyrnong council has urged Victoria University to withdraw its current $2.20 entrance fee at its Whitten Oval Community Sports Stadium, as well as guarantee no increase in leasing fees to the community sporting organisations using the facilities.
Council passed the notice of motion from councillor Jorge Jorquera at its meeting on Tuesday, August 16, which also recognised that a number of Maribyrnong families were continuing to struggle after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cr Jorquera said a number of players who participate in sport within the stadium have been unable to get their families to attend games due to the cost of entry.
“To paint a picture of the impact this has in terms of accessibility, a family of four…can easily spend $1000 a year just to get entry into the stadium before the fees that they pay for the sports that they participate in,” he said.
“This is having a really big impact, especially for example on the basketball community, where there has been a real effort made by Westgate Basketball (Association), for example, to develop the participation rates of a number of more disadvantaged communities, in particular the African community.
“It’s just making this highly inaccessible.”
Cr Jorquera said encouraging participation and community interest in sport and physical activity was the responsibility of civic organisations, as well as helping people achieve an improved wellbeing.
Matthew Sims
