Warranor seeks funds
Campaign for new facilities
After 55 years being a nomad, Warranor Junior Football Club in Warragul is finally putting down its roots with big plans for its future permanent home at Logan Park.
Last year it was granted joint winter use of the number two oval at Logan Park with Warragul and Warragul Industrials football clubs that have utilised it for training while Warranor has also used it for training and as its home ground. But with the two senior clubs due to move next year to a new oval built in Tarwin St, opposite the main Western Park ground, as a training alternative Warranor has been quick off the mark to make Logan Park “home”.
With off ground facilities limited to a large colorbond building comprising changerooms, toilets and a small canteen Warranor has had plans drawn up and presented to Baw Baw Shire Council to add a spectator pavilion, scoreboard, timekeepers’ box and extend the canteen, a project estimated to cost about $280,000.
The club, with the endorsement of the shire, AFL Gippsland and the Australian Sports Foundation, has launched a crowd funding campaign through the ASF to raise $100,000 towards the cost of the spectator pavilion ($130,000) and scoreboard ($40,000) that are the first priorities.
The crowd funding campaign via the ASF website and supported by a video clip featuring five former Gippsland juniors now with AFL clubs - former Warragul players Ben (North Melbourne) and Harry McKay (Carlton), Dyson Heppell (Essendon), Jack Leslie (Nambrok-Newry) and Brendan Goddard (Traralgon) - is scheduled to run for about four months.
A local business has kicked it off with a donation of $5000.
Warranor spokesman Ryan Leslie said the $100,000 the club hoped to raise would be a basis for applying for other funding such as shire and government grants.
One of four foundation clubs when the Warragul and District Junior Football League was loosely formed in 1963 – the others were St Joseph’s, Dusties and Rovers with Drouin joining the following year – Warranor has only ever had “temporary” home grounds.
They’ve included Buln Buln, Ellinbank, the former Warragul Technical School, Warragul Regional College and St Paul’s College.
Logan Park’s shared use with a number of other organisations over the year restricts what can be developed around the number two oval, including car parking.
That’s a main reason behind the push for a spectator pavilion.
A concept design already presented to Baw Baw Shire is for a walled and roofed pavilion with three bays that incorporate a coffee house, two-tier decking, pot belly stove, balustrade and wheelchair access.
The aim of the $100,000 initial fundraising target over the next few months is to have the scoreboard built by next March and the first bay of the spectator pavilion by mid to late next year.
Mr Leslie said the club’s committee was also actively seeking grants to enable all three bays of the pavilion to be built as well as the timekeepers’ box.
He said the planned facilities would benefit other users of Logan Park.
The ASF is a government-backed foundation dedicated to raising funds and supporting the development of sport.
It has Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status meaning donations made through it are tax deductible.