By Matt Fotia
One of the EFNL’s regular finals venues is set to become even more impressive following an upgrade to its viewing facilities and more.
Mitcham’s Walker Park has for many years been one of the key venues in the EFNL, with its unique design allowing for impressive atmosphere at the Tigers home games and a number of classic Division Four finals.
But with the addition of a new viewing area, the ground occasionally referred to as the ‘MCG of the East’ by the clubs faithful will go to another level according to club president Matt McCubbin, who said the improvements were much needed due to its spike in junior participation and strong supporter base.
“It’s long overdue, because our juniors have completely exploded in terms of participation and our supporter base has always been one of the biggest supporter bases, at least in our division,”
“So even though the (current) grandstand keeps people out of the wet it still doesn’t do anything about the cold, so having the new viewing area will provide some more cover for people to stand up there on the outdoor deck and the indoor viewing room is an ideal sports-bar like set up where you can grab a drink and watch the footy through the glass.”
The Walker Park redevelopment is nearing completion and this photo courtesy of Andrew Kennedy represents images of the old and the new @ The MCG of The East, one of the best facilities in the Eastern suburbs. #strongandbold #theoldandnew @footyefl pic.twitter.com/W5KDbg2eae
— Mitcham FC 🐯🏆 x 17 (@MitchamFC) April 27, 2020
McCubbin hopes that the extra cover and new indoor viewing area will mean that crowd numbers improve on days where Melbourne’s wild weather usually deters spectators. McCubbin also spoke about the additional upgrades to the clubs existing rooms, which will enable the club to increase the size of their future functions.
“It should mean that people feel more comfortable to come on those wet finals days, because they can stay out of the rain and from a viewing facility stand point, it’s just a perfect view where you can see the whole ground but remain close enough to the ground so that you don’t lose any of the atmosphere,”
“The existing space has all been improved as well, so on a normal function where we could hold a 100 people, we can now push that up to 160-170 seated people, which means we can let more members and supporters come in and be a part of the luncheons and alike.”
The upgrade’s don’t stop there at the Tigers Den, with McCubbin envisaging night football for Walker Park in the near future.
The club’s ‘Superbox’ which is situated above the scoreboard will remain as is.
“They’re looking at doing a lighting upgrade at the end of this year or the start of this year so that we could have a look at having some night footy as well.”
Like all community football clubs across the nation, Mitcham are doing the best they can to keep its community connected while obeying COVID-19 restrictions.
Whilst keeping the players fit for a potential season is important, McCubbin is aware that it is out of their control.
“It’s hard because the coaches are trying to keep the boys fit just in case we do start, but from our point of view all you can do is keep everyone in contact and make sure they’re all okay via social media.”
“It’s difficult, but I’m sure everyone is going through the same type of struggles.
