Western Bulldogs CEO Ameet Bains says the transformation of the VU Whitten Oval precinct has been exciting to watch.
While the Bulldogs’ teams continue to access the Club’s high performance centre onsite, Braybrook’s newly-developed Skinner Reserve has homed AFL, AFLW, VFL and VFLW pre-season training sessions since crucial works – including the resurfacing of VU Whitten Oval itself – commenced late last year.
“There’s been a lot of progress which is exciting. There’s a lot of sand on the oval itself and a range of different trucks and excavators doing their best - the project itself is really exciting,” he told SEN 1116 on Tuesday morning.
“Since coming back from the Christmas break, the redevelopment has really ramped up.
“I think the most noticeable part – apart from the oval – is the indoor training field frame has gone up, and the roof frame went up yesterday.
“From the facility and precinct perspective at a broader level, the fact that we’re so ingrained with community is a big part of what we want to do, and build a facility that is welcoming and inclusive for everyone in and around our local community.”
The Bulldogs will embark on a community camp to Ballarat next week, with an intra-club hit-out slated for Saturday 25 February at Mars Stadium.
“Initially we were happy to play our second (pre-season) game against another club, but we had some shuffling of dates in our schedule around our community camp which meant it was proving difficult,” Bains said.
“Ultimately we made the decision to do a full-scale intra-club game instead, which will be at Mars Stadium on Saturday 25 February and a great opportunity for our fans in the region to see our players up close.
“We’re really fortunate to have such passionate and loyal members - we broke our all-time membership record last season and ticked over 50,000 for the first time so we believe there are positive times ahead and hope our fans can come along on the journey.”
The Bulldogs officially launched their 2023 membership campaign, Unleash more with a membership, this week.
