Fremantle Oval Redevelopment Masterplan Acknowledgement of Country
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FREMANTLE OVAL REDEVELOPMENT MASTERPLAN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY The City of Fremantle, along with its key project partners, acknowledge that Fremantle Oval is on Whadjuk Boodja, and we pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We also acknowledge all indigenous football players and their families who have brought so much joy to this place. KEY PARTNERS WITH ASSISTANCE FROM Robert Murray, Architect CONTENTS 01. INTRODUCTION 2 02. OBJECTIVES 4 03. IDENTIFIED NEEDS & LIMITATIONS 6 04. THE STRATEGIC CONTEXT 8 05. POTENTIAL COMMUNITY PROGRAMS 10 06. ECONOMIC BENEFITS 12 07. FREMANTLE OVAL MASTERPLAN 12 Victoria Pavilion Spectator areas Nature play area Entry plazas South Fremantle Football Club 08. PROJECT PHASING 24 09. PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS 26 10. COST PLAN 27 CONTACT US 28 01. INTRODUCTION REVITALISING THE HEART OF FREMANTLE Fremantle Oval has stood The main football facilities used prepared in collaboration and as an icon in the lives of by South Fremantle Football consultation with the following Club, built in the 1960s and key stakeholders. the Fremantle community, 70s, are now in critical need of its visitors, and travelling replacement to meet the current 1. City of Fremantle sports fans for over 125 standards, codes, diversity needs, 2. South Fremantle Football Club and community expectations of a years. Originally given to 3. West Australian Football State football site. the City as a Crown grant Commission in 1894, the land has since And with an aim to make the 4. Fremantle Dockers Football Club become engrained in the Oval an active community hub, 5. Department of Local not just for football events, the very fabric of the historic Government, Sport and community amenities must also Cultural Industries Port City. be improved. 6. South Metropolitan Health The Fremantle Oval Services Redevelopment Masterplan 7. Heritage Council of Western (the Masterplan) has been Australia LOOKING AHEAD Key partners The Masterplan recognises with its original grandstand, the City of Fremantle the heritage and strategic Victoria Pavilion. Built in 1897, challenges of this complex site, the oval has moved away from the South Fremantle and delivers a logical pathway pavilion over time, reducing its Football Club for improvements over time. capability as a spectator stand. West Australian This considers other inner-city Football Commission constraints, including: Another key aspect of the plan is Fremantle Dockers improving pedestrian and general • neighbouring World Heritage- access to the Oval, to help with listed Fremantle Prison; connectivity, activation, and safety. • proposed new Fremantle Police Headquarters (former Once complete Fremantle Oval Stan Reilly Centre); will set a new benchmark for State football, on par with its • future planning needs of the Eastern States counterparts, and Fremantle Hospital site. stand as an integrated part of Central to the planning is city life for a range of events and reconnecting the playing field activities that everyone can enjoy. 2 07 08 01 12 09 10 02 11 04 03 06 05 01 WA Maritime Museum 02 Round House 03 Bathers Beach 04 Shipwrecks Museum 05 Fishing Boat Harbour 06 Esplanade Park 07 Fremantle Train Station 08 Kings Square 09 Cappuccino Strip 10 Fremantle Market 11 Fremantle Oval 12 Fremantle Prison 3 02. OBJECTIVES FACILITIES + 1. INFRASTRUCTURE Bring the venue up to code for hosting WAFL and WAFLW games and Grand Finals; WAFL night broadcast matches; AFL preseason games; and AFLW games, as per Category 4 AFL Facilities Guidelines. THE 2. EXPERIENCE Develop a destination that integrates and connects to the historic city around it, and delivers a great ‘gameday experience’ for fans and the broader Fremantle community. 3. COMMUNITY Enhance connections with the community through sporting programs, football events, community activations, family-focused experiences, and education programs, to ensure a broad range of uses and foster a sense of connection to the oval. 4 02. OBJECTIVES THE SPIRIT THE HEART OF OF FOOTBALL. FREMANTLE. 4. RESILIENCE Plan the core football facilities and infrastructure with a degree of flexibility that enables a second club to share the oval in the future—whether for training, games, or both. ECONOMIC 5. SUSTAINABILITY Create a financially sustainable venue that generates income independent of ‘turnstile revenue’; hosts other events and commercial opportunities; and ensures financial sustainability for SFFC. 6. HERITAGE Contribute to, rather than detract from, the conservation and understanding of the Oval’s heritage, Victoria Pavilion, and the various elements associated with the World Heritage status of Fremantle Prison. 5 03. IDENTIFIED NEEDS & LIMITATIONS The Masterplan responds to critical issues that currently exist at Fremantle Oval that prevent the venue reaching its full potential, especially regarding women’s football, and improving connection with the historic Port City. 08 02 01 03 04 05 N 06 07 01 Fremantle Market 05 Former Dockers building 02 Victoria Pavilion 06 Fremantle Hospital 03 Existing car park 07 Historic Knowle 04 SFFC 08 Fremantle Prison 6 03. IDENTIFIED NEEDS & LIMITATIONS Current Future ISSUES & CONSTRAINTS OPPORTUNITIES WAFL venues Currently only 1 of 8 WAFL Venues meet the The project has strong alignment to WAFC & AFL minimum standards, leaving WA in a poor position Strategies. Upgrading the SFFC facility and ground when compared to other states’ AFL category 4 will deliver one of Perth metropolitan’s top WAFL facilities. Around 70% of football venues across WA facilities supporting AFLW games, WAFL, and don’t adequately cater for female participants. A high pre-season AFL games, including day and night TV number of players change rooms and amenities are under size for the level of facility hierarchy. broadcasting. Existing football facility and oval Upgrading the SFFC facility and grounds, and Fremantle Oval’s existing facilities and improving collaboration and partnership between infrastructure for football are considered the Oval’s varied stakeholders, will deliver better substandard as per Strategic Facilitates Plan 2020- outcomes for prioritisation of facility upgrades, 2030. SFFC facilities were rated ‘Poor’ regarding facility design considerations, multi-user access, home and away change rooms, umpire room, and venue scheduling, and cross-LGA use for finals Pavilion condition. allocation and talent pathways. Public realm/community uses The Oval’s central location provides an The existing public realm within the oval area is opportunity to connect and link different areas poorly defined, lacks quality, and the internal road within and around the precinct. Upgrading around the oval boundary fence compromises user the public realm around the oval will improve wayfinding and safety, making it a car-dominant community use in the broader context and for environment. future development of the precinct. Heritage elements and setting The Fremantle Oval precinct comprises various Improving the physical and visual connections heritage elements representing different historic between the key heritage elements will contribute eras, cultures, and values, and is currently to a better understanding of the Oval’s important disconnected from Victoria Pavilion, the old history. Re-orienting & shortening the oval will grandstand. Located within the buffer zone of reconnect the ground and Victoria Pavilion, World Heritage-listed Fremantle Prison, any enhancing the grandstand’s functionality as a proposed changes in and around the oval will need spectator stand. to demonstrate no adverse impact. 7 04. THE STRATEGIC CONTEXT The Masterplan aligns with national, state, regional, and local stakeholders’ needs, which include WA Football Commission, AFL, South Fremantle Football Club, City of Fremantle, and Fremantle Prison. WAFC STRATEGIC FACILITIES PLAN 2020-2030 WAFC Strategic Facilities Plan 2020-2030 Provides the principles and strategic framework to support future planning, development, and growth of football facilities across WA, across three critical pillars: • Sustainability - Deliver inclusive, sustainable, and operationally viable facilities that respond to demand; • Partnerships - Improve our network of industry stakeholders by partnering with all levels of government, clubs, and other sports; • Investment - Highlight the needs and benefits of investment in football infrastructure, and the social, economic, and wellbeing benefits for the community. 8 04. THE STRATEGIC CONTEXT Through strong stakeholder partnership, the Masterplan delivers an inclusive and sustainable facility, and achieves social, economic, and wellbeing benefits for the community. Aligning with several key strategic documents produced by the City of Fremantle, it rejuvenates an iconic sporting facility and provides opportunities for broader community use and enjoyment. The purpose of the diagram is to visually communicate the key principles for the potential future upgrades and developments within the Freman- KEY PRINCIPLES DIAGRAM tle Oval Precinct. The diagram demonstrates the major axis points to and within the pre- 20 15 cinct in relation to the heritage elements and broader context. The dia- 10 gram is the first step in developing a guiding framework for this import- 5 ant and complex precinct. It is not a design proposal or masterplan. 1. Upgrade the Fremantle Oval for football 12 • Re-orient and re-size the oval in order to optimise its use for WAFL and AFLW. • Resolve the disconnection between the oval and Victoria 11 10 Pavilion that diminishes the grandstands