East Perth Football Club decision to move welcomed

11/2/02
East Perth Football Club's decision to move from Perth to Leederville Oval opens the way to negotiate plans to redevelop both ovals into top-class sporting facilities, Sport and Recreation Minister Alan Carpenter and Town of Vincent Mayor Nick Catania said today.
In welcoming the decision, Mr Carpenter said it was a major step towards developing a rectangular soccer stadium at Perth Oval that would do much to promote this rapidly growing sport.
"It will also open the way to develop Leederville Oval into a football centre of excellence, with a modern stadium for the Subiaco and East Perth Football Clubs," he said.
"Under the plan at Leederville, it is also proposed to have a state-of-the-art sports stadium for 16 indoor sports at the Loftus Centre.
"The Department of Sport and Recreation can now start serious discussions with the Town of Vincent, Perth Glory and any other users about plans for the developments in accordance with the Government's recently released State Sports Facilities Plan."
Town of Vincent Mayor Nick Catania said today's vote opened the way for a much-needed rejuvenation of the area around Perth Oval and would breathe life into the area.
"It was a difficult decision for the East Perth members to end 100 years of tradition at Perth Oval but the decision will lead to vastly improved conditions for their players and members," Mr Catania said.
"Both the East Perth and Subiaco Football Clubs will have far better facilities for their members and significantly reduced costs.
"It's taken a lot of work to get to this point and all the involved parties will benefit if we can successfully negotiate details of the plan."

Mr Carpenter said the Government had already committed to being involved in the development of the soccer stadium and today's decision was a win for everyone - it was a great day for sport in Western Australia.
Minister's office: 9213 6800