By Lachlan Mitchell
Melbourne City has a new place to call home, after a Casey Fields redevelopment saw a new state-of-the-art pitch installed on the grounds.
Casey Fields plays host to the Melbourne Demons, and recently the Melbourne Storm, who took on the New Zealand Warriors in a practice match on Saturday.
The new facility will house eight new pitches, as well as a youth academy for the local teams to play on and grow their game.
Melbourne City CEO Brad Rowse was optimistic about the future of Casey Fields for professional teams in the future.
”The new pitch is a visual representation of all of the hard work that has been going on behind the scenes,” Rowse said.
“A special thanks to Casey Council who are a fantastic partner and have a real passion for turning Casey Fields into the destination for professional sport.”
Casey will now have a facility for locals to play on and learn the game of soccer, with clinics hosted by the City players, as well creating a local environment for the sport to be played socially.
“We are building a facility that belongs to everyone who is passionate about football and we want to work closely to with the local football community to develop the game in the south east,” Rowse said.
“We would love to see the kids who come down after school and play on the pitches, one day running out for Melbourne City.”
Melbourne City coach Patrick Kisnorbo was full of praise for the new and improved facility in the south east.
“It’s great to see the City group are investing in the future and everyone aligned to the club, and it’s also great for young kids to see. Hopefully one day those kids get to play on this ground,” Kisnorbo said.
The stadium which is made of 50 percent synthetic and 50 percent natural grass, provides a great outlet for the Cranbourne community.
The turf is a direct replica of what’s used at European powerhouses Manchester and Real Madrid.
“It’s great for Cranbourne and hopefully we inspire the next generation…it’s great for the community and our club,” Kisnorbo said.
The state-of-the-art pitch also provides an opportunity for players to grow and to create quality players for the future.
“In Europe they don’t have facilities like this, and if we continue to have great places like this hopefully the quality of the game can also grow,” Kisnorbo said.
Casey administrator Miguel Belmar was present to open the facility and has called on the community to embrace the new development.
“This is an elite facility that has been put together by council, but it’s not an elitist facility,” Belmar said.
“It will be open to the community and the kids. When we reflect we have produced many outstanding footballers.
“The Stadium will hopefully open the dreams of kids to be the next big star; South East Melbourne has produced a variety of outstanding footballers including former Australian Captain Paul Wade and goal-scorer Scott McDonald.”
