Park split solution plea

NORTH Queensland Football is calling on the State Government for a “commonsense” approach to regional sport, adamant the return to play guidelines do not suit the northern areas.

Typically, football in Townsville is played out of Brolga Park – a fenced and gated facility with multiple grounds to spread across.

The plan FNQ general manager Declan Carnes had in place was to split the park into three separate zones, with multiple gates able to manage the flow of people to each area and maintain the 100-person capacity.

However, he said there was no clarity around what constituted a venue, and at this stage he was resigned to the maximum crowd being across the entirety of Brolga Park.

It would present a logistical nightmare to manage for the organisation.

“The policy they’ve brought in is Brisbane-based. In Brisbane none of the club parks are fenced. They’re applying a policy that doesn’t apply regionally,” Carnes said.

“What it’s going to mean is I’ll be sending games to club parks … we can’t stop people just showing up to a club park because there’s no fence on it.

“It’s going to be spread across eight to 10 parks, it’s going to mean our volunteers are going to be burnt out and may not return to the game in 2021.

“It will mean we’re unable to get referees to games because they’re spread across different parks, and a parent with more than one child may not be able to get to the game.”

Running fixtures out of multiple club venues would also require the Townsville clubs to be able to facilitate this. Should the guidelines remain at a 100-person maximum played out of Brolga Park, junior games may stretch to as late as 9pm kick-offs.

Carnes said there was a disparity between the ways in which shopping centres, for instance, were able to operate at greater capacities but sporting grounds were not.

He said the 13ha Brolga Park could fit 10 Bunnings stores into it, so social distancing is something that could be managed with multiple car parks and entry points.

Carnes said it would come at a greater cost to the organisation – with more toilets and cleaners to adhere to health guidelines – but it would be done in a more responsible environment than splitting games across several venues.

“We’ve got three separate gates on three different streets, all with carparking where we cordon them off to three separate zones. What we’re chasing is the Government to allow us to split our park in groups of 100 by July 10,” he said.

Carnes said he had contacted the Sport and Recreation Department, with his proposal passed up the line to Queensland Health.