THE AFL says it wants to repay Wangaratta by staging a preseason game in the city next year.
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Thousands of fans left Norm Minns Oval shattered on Saturday night after the sold-out St Kilda- Essendon game was called off just over an hour before its scheduled start because the weather had stopped the Bombers’ planes from landing.
The AFL, which along with Wangaratta Council, the state and federal governments and the community pumped money into the $3 million redevelopment of the oval, has guaranteed the city five games in the next decade.
AFL facilities and project manager Ken Gannon said the AFL was “a very good chance” of returning to Wangaratta next year.
“We are talking about that now, that we should commit straight away to a game next year,” he said.
“The guys in Melbourne (AFL House) are sympathetic to that and we’ll work all the details out in the not too distant future.
“We’ll come back again and give them a chance to ... recoup some of their energy.”
Wangaratta Council events co-ordinator Tanya McAlpin, who did a mountain of work on the project, said the council had not been guaranteed a game next year.
“There’s no guarantee but we are hopeful that will happen,” she said.
“The AFL were fantastic and did everything they could.
“You don’t really have contingency plans in place for something like that.”
Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu said from Wangaratta yesterday he was confident the AFL would compensate the Wangaratta clubs for the disappointment.
“It fell over and I am sure the AFL will look at this in good spirits and find a way to compensate,” he said.
“Let’s be grateful there’s huge enthusiasm for the game in Wang and the region and it augurs well for a AFL game in the future.”
Gannon refused to blame the cancellation on Essendon, which said its travel plans were arranged several weeks ago and were hindered by “a mix-up with some of the (Wangaratta) accommodation in early January”.
“Hindsight’s a great thing,” Gannon said.
“We always thought the weather would be OK.
“We’ve just got to make sure we repay the efforts of the people who have put the game on.
“There’s been so much effort by so many people and 11,000 purchased tickets ... it’s very disappointing.”
Gannon said the AFL was keen to use the new facilities.
“This game goes back probably two-three years,” he said.
“This game was our contribution in stimulus and we haven’t come through.
“But the lights, the facilities, the improvements to the Magpies ground will always be there.”
Fans wanting information on refunds can visit Wangaratta Performing Art Centre’s Facebook page.
