Ever wanted to hear what the Richmond Tigers AFL club song would sound like in Greek? Find out this Sunday in a massive celebration to showcase Melbourne icon Victoria Park entering a new era as a major community recreation space.
Yarra Mayor Alison Clarke said hundreds of local residents and people from across Melbourne were expected to attend the official re-opening of the Abbotsford ground on Sunday 4 December.
The event will mark the completion of a $7.2 million redevelopment – funded by the Australian Government and Council – of the former home ground of the Collingwood Football Club.
Stands have been refurbished and perimeter walls removed or reduced to open up the heritage-listed facility’s new development.
“Victoria Park is coming alive again with activity, providing much-needed open space in the inner-city for people to walk their dogs, jog, play sport or have a barbecue,” Cr Clarke said.
“The revitalisation of this ground has been more than a decade in the making after the Collingwood Football Club played its last game at Victoria Park in 1999,” she said.
“Many Melburnians will have strong memories of attending football games at Victoria Park, as it was a place where emotions often ran high.
“With this redevelopment, we have held on to what is cherished about Victoria Park so that people can soak up the atmosphere while enjoying new public parkland and refurbished facilities.
“In many ways, we are returning Victoria Park to its original purpose, as in 1878 the ground was designated by its then owner as a place of ‘public resort and recreation’.”
Cr Clarke said the Collingwood Football Club’s links with the site would continue, with the ground hosting home games of the Collingwood Football Club’s VFL team in 2012 and the Collingwood Football Club Foundation creating a community hub in the ground’s former Social Club building.
A community choir singing a medley of AFL team songs in different languages will be among the host of activities at the community celebration on Sunday 4 December, from 1.00 pm to 5.00 pm.
Hosted by Greg Champion and Jeff Richardson from the Coodabeen Champions, the event will also involve local primary school children competing in traditional Aboriginal games, a mass dance inspired by the movements of AFL umpires and a performance by Mike Brady.
There will be a round robin of sporting activities for children and families, a Collingwood Football Club memorabilia display including Premiership Cups, local community stalls offering food and other goods, and celebrations for the International Day of People with Disability. People will have an opportunity to discuss the park’s new public artworks with the artists who created them.