Venue & Government Partnerships Manager of AFL NSW/ACT, Michael Stanton, President of Ainslie Football Club, Lee Phillips & CEO of Ainslie Group, Simon Patterson
The season may have come to an end, but the lights are still on with the excitement of our recently upgraded light poles at Alan Ray Oval.
With funding support from AFL NSW/ACT, we were allocated $150,000 for the instalment of a 200 lux LED lighting system, which will now signify a whole range of more opportunities for the club. Under the ACT Community Football Facilities Fund (ACT CFFF), which aims to develop infrastructure required for community football to thrive, in areas such as change rooms and lighting.
In pursuit of growing the game, this improvement allows us to expand possibilities of the grounds. It allows us an increase in use of the oval outside the preexisting hours, supports our players training and game time with enhanced visibility while also reducing wait time significantly to reach full capacity. The opportunities reach farther, with having greater access all year round for night games, community usage and potential for AFL and AFLW competition. Even more importantly, it strengthens the value of our football club among the community reaching benefits beyond the bounds of the oval.
“The value of a Community Football Club study undertaken by La Trobe University found that for every $1 spent to run a community football club, there is at least a $4.40 return in social value. This “social value” is measured in terms of increased social connectedness, wellbeing and mental health status, employment outcomes, physical health, and support of other community groups,” said Ainslie Group CEO, Simon Patterson.
For every one player that the football club reaches, at least ten people in the community are also reached, which helps drives our motivation to continually better the club and its facilities, thus I turn giving to our community network.
We would like to thank AFL NSW/ACT, and its Venues & Government Partnerships manager of AFL NSW/ACT, Michael Stanton, for their collaboration with us on the upgrade, the oval is looking its best and we can’t wait for what opportunities are in store.