FAQs
- Unlimited hours of use (compared to 25-35 hours per week for natural turf);
- All weather surface (during rain events and immediately after);
- Takes pressure off natural turf field recovery times;
- Consistency of ball roll for training and competition purposes and;
- Safer playing surface for users.
What sports can be played on the proposed concept plans?
Elgar Park’s north east ground is already a designated sports field and these improvement works will add to the variety of sports and capacity so that more people can participate in organised sport.
During daylight hours, concept plan 1 supports training and competition for hockey, futsal and junior cricket (up to U10's). With the sports field lighting in use, concept plan 1 supports training and competition for futsal.
During daylight hours, concept plan 2 supports training and competition* for hockey (*Hockey 5’s and 7’s), futsal, netball and basketball. With the sports field lighting in use, concept plan 2 supports training and competition for netball and basketball.
What is a synthetic turf playing field?
Synthetic turf refers to any artificial turf surface used in sports ground construction including unfilled, filled and water-based surfaces.
What type of synthetic turf surface is being proposed for this site?
The synthetic turf proposed for this site is a sand filled artificial grass surface.
Are there any benefits in using a synthetic turf?
Some of the benefits of using synthetic surfaces over natural turf are:
Are there any limitations in using a synthetic turf?
While synthetic turf does have its benefits there are also some limitations. For example, due to different pile heights (the length of the synthetic grass), a synthetic turf sports field can't cater for all sports at the same time as it won't meet different sporting bodies' standards. This is due to there not being a suitable synthetic turf surface that is safe for all sports on one field.
With that said, this guidance only relates to organised sporting activities so you could still have an informal kick to kick or play other ball sport activities on the sports field.
Can the synthetic surface be recycled or repurposed when it needs to be replaced?
Currently in Australia, when synthetic turf has reached the end of its useful life, it can be repurposed for schools or equestrian clubs. However, it is likely that at end of the synthetic turf’s life cycle in this project (10+years), Australia will have the ability to recycle the surface.
Will the new facility be fenced?
Both concept plans involve fencing the north east sports field, however it will be available for community and informal use when not in use for organised sports.
Yes. There will be a sports field fence on all four sides of the playing field. The height of the fence will vary from 1.2m to 6m with the increase in height at critical sections to assist with limiting escaping sports balls.
Similarly, to concept plan 1 there will be fencing on all four sides of the hockey and futsal playing field. The netball and basketball court area will be mostly unfenced with a low (1.2m) fence located at strategic locations to stop sports ball escaping onto the shared use path.
Will I be allowed to walk my dog in this space?
No, dogs will not be allowed to enter into the synthetic north east field area. However, the north west sports field at Elgar Park is a designated dog-off lead area. If any dog walkers are currently using the north east sports field, we ask that they instead use the designated dog off-lead north west sports field.
Please note that dogs must be on-lead throughout the majority of Elgar Park, with the exception of the north west sports field, which is a designated dog-off lead area.
Will there be any impacts to the shared user paths in Elgar Park?
No, there will not be impacts to the shared user paths. They will not be moved or made smaller. There may be a temporary disruption during construction.
Will I be allowed to use the site for informal sport?
The intention of the project is to maximise community benefit and as such it will be open to the whole community, except during formal approved community activity such as sporting training or competition as governed by Council's Sporting Facilities Guide.
How will Council allocate the site for organised sport?
Council will allocate the site through our Seasonal Allocation process which is governed by Council's Sporting Facilities Guide.
Are you proposing to light the synthetic playing field and what type of lighting will be provided?
Yes. The project includes installing smart LED light fittings. LED lights control ‘light spill’ really well, which means that they will light the sports fields and not shine onto neighbouring properties.
The level of lighting output that will be provided by this project is 100lux. However, this may vary depending on the type of organised sport played on the sports field and whether further funding contributions are available.
The project has been designed to comply with all Australian Standards and features control measures including the ability to automatically turn the lights off to ensure they do not stay on when not in use.
Council's Floodlighting Policy and Sporting Facilities Guide will govern usage of the sports field lighting. Use of lighting for weekly training must conclude by 9pm at the latest, while competition matches may play until 9:30pm to a maximum of two or three nights per week.
What is free public ‘on demand’ lighting?
‘On demand’ lighting is free public lighting that will light up an area.
If ‘on demand’ lighting is set up at the Elgar Park north east sports field, it would allow the community to turn on the sports field flood lighting so they can exercise on the sports field when it is not in use by organised sport.
For example, the lights could be programmed to be available for community use from 6am-7.30am in the mornings and in the evenings until 9pm.
An example of ‘on-demand’ lighting successfully in use in Whitehorse is at Mont Albert Reserve, where users can push a button on the pavilion and the lights turn on for 30 minutes. This allows the community to use the oval for a variety of reasons such as an early morning run or informal sporting activities.