After two years without a home game, Ballan Football Netball Club continues to bleed tens-of-thousands of dollars in match day revenue, as the wait for new facilities stretches on.
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The development began in August 2021, after the Moorabool Shire received state government funding for new facilities at Ballan Recreation Reserve.
But almost two years on, the facilities are yet to be finished, and owing to COVID-19 and the redevelopment, the club have played only a handful of home games in the past four seasons.
Ballan Football Netball Club treasurer Mark Conlan said the club had "no hope" of playing another home game this season, and had lost at least $50,000 in match day revenue from being shut for two years.
He said the morale of the club had also been affected by being unable to perform regular functions like Thursday night dinners after training.
"We're just concerned it's going to drag into next year, and it could be five seasons of disruptions," Mr Conlan said.
"No club can handle five seasons [without home games], and it certainly doesn't look like it's going to be finished this year, and I'm concerned it will drag into next year."
The only place we haven't played is my backyard, and that could be an option the way it's going
- Ballan Football Netball Club president David O'Hanlon
Mr Conlan said there had been inconsistent messaging from Moorabool Shire, who are in control of the redevelopment.
"They [Moorabool Shire] said we would be in by round one, they said we would be in by round four or five, but here we are in round 10, and we've got no hope," he said.
"It's just a boggy mess, there's still piles of mud, the building won't be finished for at least another six months, it's an industrial site."
Moorabool Shire chief executive Derek Madden said the council was working closely with the club to provide weekly construction updates, while also liasing with the Central Highlands Football League to find alternative venues for Ballan home games.
But, Ballan Football Netball Club president David O'Hanlon said the club was starting to run out of patience with the council.
He said the team has had to travel to all corners of the Central Highlands to play their matches this season, including games at Bacchus Marsh, Smythesdale and Sebastopol.
"The only place we haven't played is my backyard, and that could be an option the way it's going," he said.
Mr O'Hanlon questioned the suitability of the contractors picked by council, and said the project had been plagued by continual setbacks.
If the state government money had been given directly to the club rather than going through council, Mr O'Hanlon said the process would have been streamlined.
He used fellow Central Highlands team Bungaree as an example of what clubs can achieve for themselves, as they took less than 12-months to conduct their own redevelopment.
"The loss over the last two years is going to take a significant time to rebound back from, and I think most country clubs would have folded if they had been in our position," he said.
"We're lucky to have great members, great supporters and great sponsors that have stuck fat."
Mr Madden said the change rooms were close to being completed, and the club had decided to not play home games until the entire site was finished.
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"The social pavilion is scheduled to be finished by the end of September, dependent on the weather and availability of trades," he said.
"When completed, this will be a fantastic facility for not only footballers, netballers and cricketers, but for the community, who can use the pavilion for functions and community events.
"The site will be finished with landscaping, parking, new cricket nets and football safety nets, and a new electronic scoreboard, funded by a Council community grant."
The frustration at Ballan comes as another Central Highlands team, Darley Football Netball Club, made a statement on Facebook stating the finish time for their club facility redevelopment had also been extended, and they would likely be without home facilities until 2024.
"This is such disappointing news to our community who are having to be patient to access a facility which is sitting there complete," said Darley Football Netball Club president Mark Shelly in the statement.
"What these continued timeframe delays don't illustrate is the tenacity which our volunteers are having to dig deep for to keep our club ticking over and games being played."
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