Gardiners Reserve Update

Football Victoria (FV) joined representatives from the City of Monash and Eastern Lions SC this week to assess the playing surface at Gardiners Reserve in Burwood.

At the meeting, all parties agreed that the playing surface continues to be unsafe for all football.

Whilst the City of Monash has been able to source Ready Play Turf into the previously water damaged section of the surface, they were unable to install this turf until Wednesday 4 March. This has not provided enough time for the install to settle for this weekend’s Eastern Lions V Dandenong Thunder fixture. 

The clubs have agreed that this weekend’s fixture will now take place on Monday 9 March, with a 7pm Kick Off at George Andrews Reserve.

FV advises all stakeholders that the surface will not host Senior or Junior football until the council’s independent playing field consultant – Sports Turf – approves the field for football.

At this stage, the advice is that Eastern Lions' fixture V Hume City on Sunday 22 March will proceed at Gardiner’s Reserve. However FV will conduct a facility inspection before confirming this field as suitable for NPL football. Both Hume City and Eastern Lions are aware of the current status in relation to the Gardiners Reserve playing surface.

No Senior or Junior training will occur on the field in the lead up to this inspection.

FV would like to advise all NPL Senior Men’s clubs that all other aspects of the Gardiners Reserve facility have been endorsed to host 2020 NPL Senior football, noting that all U20 fixtures will utilise the change rooms and synthetic field at the venue. 

This playing field change frees up the two change rooms allocated to the Gardiners Reserve grass field for exclusive use by NPL Senior teams.

The City of Monash has also confirmed that two new change rooms will be established for players using the grass field in May / June 2020. 

For background, Eastern Lions' Round 1 and Round 4 Home Games have been move due to a burst irrigation pipe under the field's surface which caused significant water damage to an area of the Gardiners Reserve field situated just in front of the Visitor's Technical area.