neafl article

NEAFL ARTICLE
by Michael Minns
By JOHN FORRESTER
ER
6
In the AFL Canberra competition, Queanbeyan have
always been the odd ones out as their home was
technically out of Canberra.
But one trip to the lovely Dairy Farmers Park is enough
to change anyone’s opinion on that matter.
It is a homely feel.
Walking around the boundary line you see the change
rooms, sitting side by side, with the umpires rooms
further right.
Above is the grandstand, stably supported with a roof
over the top, easily being able to accommodate 70-80
people.
At the very top sit the coaches’ boxes, the best possible
view of the oval with an eagle eye perspective of the
game as it is being played.
To the left, the most unique feature is the
Legend’s Stand.
It is a vintage style, little shack with the most loyal of
followers sitting atop screaming passionately for their
home team.
It’s a true family footy club.
THE TIGERS HOME GROUND WAS
DEVELOPED IN THE LATE SEVENTIES
AFTER A PROPOSAL WAS FORWARDED TO
THE QUEANBEYAN CITY COUNCIL BY THE
CLUB’S THEN PRESIDENT, LEN PETERSON
IN 1972.
Since then, the club has contributed over $800,000 to
the ground along with government grants and support
from sponsors including major sponsor Dairy Farmers to
become one of the most picturesque grounds in the AFL
Canberra and NEAFL competitions.
Ron Fowlie, General Manager of the Queanbeyan Tigers
Football Club says there are new plans for upgrading the
ground in the near future.
He says that keeping a professional environment is
important when clubs are looking for respect from their
opponents.
“WE HAVE PLANS TO UPGRADE THE
CURRENT GRANDSTAND TO INCLUDE
MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS TO THE VISITORS
CHANGE ROOMS, PROVIDE DISABLED
ACCESS TO THE GRANDSTAND AND
TOILET FACILITIES, PROVISION OF A
NEW UMPIRES ROOM AND GENERAL
UPGRADE OF OTHER FACILITIES IN THE
COMPLEX.”
HE SAID THAT THE CLUB WAS NOW
CONSIDERED TO BE A “BOUTIQUE
GROUND THAT PEOPLE ENJOY COMING
TO WATCH THE FOOTY AT”.
A problem that the ground has faced in recent years is
its role as a retention basin for the overflow of water
(after heavy rains) from the nearby residential area of
Karabar, Thornton’s Estate and Cooks Estate.
On a number of occasions the ground becomes flooded
as the water is retained by a stone dam wall at one end
of the ground which eventually dissipates water slowly
into a complicated drainage system under the surface of
the ground.
The ground floods so quickly there is little time to move
items from the ground. On one particular flooding
in the early eighties a number of players had parked
their cars in the ground close to the Grandstand. They
were underwater within minutes of the downpour and