Monash Council to limit length of football, cricket ground use from local clubs

Officials have been taken aback by the move, which comes a few months after the new division of seasons was confirmed by Cricket Victoria, AFL Victoria and the State Government.

Monash City Council will also shut football grounds earlier as it squeezes the sporting seasons.

The decision means teams that reach finals will in some cases have to find other venues to finish them.

The council has written to clubs outlining the changes, starting from the 2025-26 cricket season and applying “to all seasons moving forward’’.

“From summer 2025-26, the community cricket season should not go longer than the second Sunday in March for the summer season and the community AFL season the second Sunday in September for the winter season,’’ the council said.

“This includes both regular-season fixtures and finals. This means that if the season extends beyond these dates, clubs will be responsible for finding their own venues to train and play outside of Monash. Noting that if clubs finish their season before these dates, they must complete the handover within a week of the season’s end, unless otherwise approved by council.’’

The council has made exemptions for Victorian Premier Cricket club Richmond and Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association affiliates Oakleigh and Mt Waverley.

But the clubs – which have access to two turf grounds each – must finish their seasons on their main grounds: Central Reserve North for Richmond, Warrawee Park Reserve for Oakleigh and Mount Waverley Reserve for Mt Waverley.

In an email, a Monash sports club liaison officer told clubs the changes were a response to recent “extended length of the seasons’’.

The officer said it was “very challenging’’ for council staff to prepare grounds during the “small changeover window’’ and to finish pavilion inspections and handovers.

“Ensuring the grounds are safe and suitable for play is our top priority, and these adjustments will help us achieve that,’’ the officer said.

The council has also put a stop to midweek T20 matches on turf grounds, saying the T20s impacted curators’ preparations of weekend wickets.

“The midweek match doesn’t allow us to water the wicket adequately as we have to keep the wicket dry for the midweek match,’’ it said. “This compromises not only the quality of the immediate following match but also affects the overall condition of the wicket throughout the season. Understanding that this may be disappointing for some clubs, however, council understand this is the best approach to maintain the quality of the wicket.’’

One club official, who asked not to be named, said he suspected the decision was more about cutting costs than preparation time.

“You can understand it going from footy season to cricket season, because the squares need a bit of TLC, but the other way, going from cricket season to footy season, I’ve never seen them doing too much preparation for that,’’ he said.

“Do they need an extra week to put the goalposts in?’’

Cricket Victoria CEO Nick Cummins said the state body would be asking Monash Council to explain the decision.

“We need to understand why it’s actually happening,’’ he said.

Former Sub-District president Phil O’Meara said the move would make life “extremely difficult’’ for clubs, particularly those that made finals and would potentially have to source grounds outside of Monash.

In a statement to CODE Sports, Monash Council said it was allocating sports grounds for a five-month season, leaving March and September for “essential’’ works to prepare the grounds for the next season.

It said some cricket clubs with turf pitches had requested they be able to play until the end of March.

“We are considering these requests to extend usage where circumstances allow.’’

In May, Cricket Victoria and AFL Victoria renewed the division of seasons agreement for shared use of sporting facilities.

The new agreement, which runs until March, 2028.

Most grounds used by community football and cricket clubs are shared by both sports who generally play across the respective traditional six-month windows: April to September for football and October to March for cricket.

“There has never been more pressure on grounds across the state to be ready for the summer and winter codes. This agreement reaffirms the commitment from cricket and football and the Victorian Government on what that access needs to look like,” Cummins said.