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The Melbourne Ballpark is a baseball park in Laverton,
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
. It was opened in January 1990, at a cost of 3.9m, 2m was contributed by the
State Government of Victoria The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive, the judicial, and th ...
and the remaining 1.8m contributed by the
Australian Federal Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...
and was constructed by CK Designwork Architects. The stadium has a capacity of approximately 5,000. In recent years, seats along the base lines have been removed and replaced with standing room area, reducing the venue's capacity.


Pre-Construction

The
Victorian Baseball Association Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...
was granted 50,000 by the
State Government of Victoria The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive, the judicial, and th ...
in the early 1980s to construct a grandstand around the outfield fence of Ross Straw Field in Parkville (Then home of the VBA), However, due to local resident and
City of Melbourne The City of Melbourne is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central city area of Melbourne. In 2018, the city has an area of and had a population of 169,961. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. The ci ...
opposition this did not eventuate. After the disappointment of Ross Straw Field the Victorian Baseball Association spent the next 10 years lobbying state government for a venue that Baseball and Softball in Victoria could call their own home. The Department of Sport and Recreation commissioned consultants Loader & Bailey to make a list of locations for a possible venue, A short list of 8 locations was made that included;
Brunswick Cricket Ground Brunswick is the historical English name for the German city of Braunschweig (Low German: ''Brunswiek'', Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek''). Brunswick may also refer to: Places and other topographs Australia * Brunswick, Victoria, a suburb of ...
at number 1, Albert Park at the
South Melbourne Cricket Ground Lakeside Stadium is an Australian sports arena in the South Melbourne suburb of Albert Park. Comprising an athletics track and soccer stadium, it currently serves as the home ground and administrative base for association football club Sout ...
,
Dandenong North Dandenong North is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 27 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Greater Dandenong local government area. Dandenong North recorded a population of 22,550 ...
(cnr Heatherton and Stud road) and Altona at number 5.


Construction

When Laverton was selected as the location for the Stadium there was much opposition in the Victorian Baseball Association over its selection, ABC commentator and
Waverley Baseball Club Waverley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Waverley'' (novel), by Sir Walter Scott ** ''Waverley'' Overture, a work by Hector Berlioz inspired by Scott's novel * Waverley Harrison, a character in the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Stre ...
coach
Dick Mason Dick, Dicks, or Dick's may refer to: Media * ''Dicks'' (album), a 2004 album by Fila Brazillia * Dicks (band), a musical group * ''Dick'' (film), a 1999 American comedy film * "Dick" (song), a 2019 song by Starboi3 featuring Doja Cat Names ...
took his concerns to the Minister for Sport and had the construction postponed while the Government reviewed the location. Former Victorian Baseball Association president and Australia Baseball Federation director Ron Smith was the major driving force behind the selection of the Laverton location, he reasoned that the land was free and more money could be spent on developing the venue instead of buying somewhere to build it, However other land more centrally located was also offered for free. In 1988 the funds were released and construction of the stadium started not long after, it was completed in 1989 in time for the maiden season of the ABL. The official opening was held in January 1990 and was officially opened by the Minister for Sport, the Honourable
Neil Trezise Neil Benjamin "Nipper" Trezise (8 February 1931 – 20 August 2006) was an Australian rules footballer who represented in the Victorian Football League and later a politician who represented the Labor Party in the Victorian Legislative Asse ...
.


Renovations

Before the 1996-97 ABL season the
Melbourne Monarchs The Melbourne Monarchs were one of the foundation members of the original (now defunct) Australian Baseball League. History The Monarchs had their licence revoked after the 1990–91 championship following a controversial dispute with Australia ...
installed a new home run fence in front of the existing fence to make the park more 'hitter friendly'. Super Box corporate seating was also installed at ground level behind home plate extending from each dugout around the back net, Super Box seating was also installed in one bay of the undercover seating. In 2000 the original AstroTurf infield was replaced with a new improved surface at a cost of $250,000. In the mid-2000s the bleacher seating along the first base line was leveled and a grassed family picnic area was installed, the third base side was done the year after. In mid-2012 a $300,000 upgrade of the stadium funded by
Sport and Recreation Victoria Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, t ...
was undertaken, upgrades included; * New Homerun fence constructed and moved in 10m, * New state-of-the-art synthetic infield surface, that will allow players to wear metal cleats, * Outfield grass re-leveled and re-seeded, * Foul ball poles, * Landscaping entrance, * Upgraded and repaired lights and announcement systems, * Dugouts expanded with new front protection provided, * Replacement of corporate boxes at ground level, * Upgraded players change rooms. Future improvements will include new batting cage and bullpens down each foul ball line.


Baseball

The Ballpark hosted the
Melbourne Monarchs The Melbourne Monarchs were one of the foundation members of the original (now defunct) Australian Baseball League. History The Monarchs had their licence revoked after the 1990–91 championship following a controversial dispute with Australia ...
and
Melbourne Bushrangers The Canberra Bushrangers were originally created as the Melbourne Bushrangers, To replace the Melbourne Monarchs in the 1991-92 Australian Baseball League Championship after the Monarchs were expelled from the competition. The Bushrangers were ...
in the original
Australian Baseball League The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it sh ...
, after the league collapsed in 1999 the stadium was used mostly by
Baseball Victoria Baseball Victoria is the governing body of baseball within Victoria. Baseball Victoria is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation. The body has teams competing in four divisions. Early history The Victorian Baseball League (VBL) was ...
with
Baseball Victoria Summer League Baseball Victoria is the governing body of baseball within Victoria (Australia), Victoria. Baseball Victoria is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation. The body has teams competing in four divisions. Early history The Victorian Baseb ...
night games played at the venue. The 2002 IBLA season was held at the ballpark, This was the first time a national championship game/series had been held at the ballpark since the collapse of the ABL in 1999. The
Melbourne Aces The Melbourne Aces are a professional baseball team in the Australian Baseball League based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Their home field is the Melbourne Ballpark in Altona. History On Friday, 20 August 2010 it was announced that ex ...
have called the stadium home since their 3rd year in the new ABL for the 2012/13
Australian Baseball League The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it sh ...
season. After the Aces first two years playing at the Melbourne Showgrounds, moving to a purpose built baseball stadium offered much more convenience and flexibility towards what they could offer Aces fans. A previous attempt to lure the Aces to the Melbourne Ballpark in 2010 was unsuccessful. Since the Aces moved to Melbourne Ballpark, Melbourne has hosted the ABL All-Star game six years in row from 2012 to 2017, leading many to agree that Melbourne Ballpark is the best baseball venue in the country.


Softball

The Ballpark has hosted Australian Softball National Championships since its opening in 1990, and also hosted games for the former
National Softball Fastpitch League National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
. In 2006 the inaugural Commonwealth Softball Championships between New Zealand, Australia, Samoa and South Africa.


Other Sports

The stadium has also played host to Motocross events, during various times of the year.


Other significance

From 20 November 2008 until 2 June 2010, the ballpark marked the western end of the
light aircraft A light aircraft is an aircraft that has a maximum gross takeoff weight of or less.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 308. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. Light aircraft are used as utility aircraft c ...
visual flight rules In aviation, visual flight rules (VFR) are a set of regulations under which a pilot operates an aircraft in weather conditions generally clear enough to allow the pilot to see where the aircraft is going. Specifically, the weather must be better ...
(VFR) advisory lane of entry to
Moorabbin Airport Moorabbin (Harry Hawker) Airport is a mostly general aviation airport for light aircraft located in between the southern Melbourne suburbs of Heatherton, Cheltenham, Dingley Village and Mentone. It also receives commercial airline service. T ...
and class G
airspace Airspace is the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a country above its territory, including its territorial waters or, more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere. It is not the same as aerospace, which is the ...
to the south and east. Inbound aircraft tracked from this waypoint ("Altona Baseball Stadium", code "ABBS") to the coast at Altona South and thence to Station Pier at 1500 ft
AMSL Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...
. Westbound aircraft followed the reciprocal track but at 2500 ft. From 3 June 2010 the western end of the VFR lane was changed to the
Bureau of Meteorology (Australia) The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM or BoM) is an executive agency of the Australian Government responsible for providing weather services to Australia and surrounding areas. It was established in 1906 under the Meteorology Act, and brought together ...
tower at Laverton, code "TON", approximately 2.3 km WNW of the ballpark.


References


External links


Melbourne Ballpark
* {{australian-baseball-stadiums Baseball venues in Australia Sports venues in Melbourne Softball venues in Australia 1990 establishments in Australia Sports venues completed in 1990 Sport in the City of Hobsons Bay Buildings and structures in the City of Hobsons Bay