Reports emerged on Wednesday that A-League club Melbourne Victory had plans for a Footscray Park academy rejected by the local council.
Maribyrnong Council has rejected the A-League giants proposal on two major fronts.
Firstly, they feel the lack of public space in the area will be even more limited by the introduction of private football grounds. Footscray Park is located right next to Flemington Racecourse and in an area that is highly populated.
So a lack of public space would be a reasonable excuse.
The council also feels now is not the right time and that all the details need to be fully realised before any major decision is made.
Understandably, they don’t want to rush into anything that may jeopardise the community. But this decision to turn the plans away has been met with divisive opinions.
Many feel that the Victory have done the right thing by initiating plans to create a location for their academy.
But there is also a large group who feel that revamping Footscray Park into a multi-million dollar football park will damage the community.
Regarding the Footscray Park Melbourne Victory issue, the strangest 'social media' alliance is between the lefty Green voting dog walkers, and some ex NSL teams fans that would not be seen being politically correct or vote Green in a fit.
— Guido Tresoldi (@GuidoTresoldi) August 27, 2019
There is still time for the council to reconsider the proposal. But under the current terms offered by both sides, it doesn’t seem likely to be renegotiated soon.
What are your thoughts on the highly divisive proposal? Let us know on social media @Soccersceneau