On behalf of Brimbank City Council, we would like to express our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Epping footballer Nathan Fitzgerald who died following a head clash while playing football in Lalor on July 4.
Brimbank City Council is committed to ensuring everybody is able to safely take part in community sport.
The health and wellbeing of both those participating in sport is our top priority in managing the use and maintenance of council’s sporting grounds.
Council acknowledges there may be concerns over the safety of covered concrete pitches on shared sporting grounds.
We recognise the concerns and want to assure the community we have robust safety and maintenance procedures in place.
All Council grounds with covered cricket pitches have been approved by both football and cricket state sporting bodies as safe for shared use with the appropriate maintenance.
Council conducts monthly inspections on our managed sporting grounds to ensure they’re at an acceptable standard for use.
At Council-managed grounds which host both summer and winter sports, rubber-backed winter covers are installed over concrete cricket pitches at the end of each cricket season. These provide a safer playing surface for winter sports, including Australian Rules football and soccer.
These rubber-backed winter covers are top dressed to ensure they are level with the surrounding turf and minimise any potential trip hazards.
Council also engages a specialist contractor to carry out annual inspections of winter covers which assesses their condition and identify any necessary repairs, maintenance or replacement to ensure they remain safe and fit for purpose.
Council continues to work closely with our clubs, associations and governing bodies to ensure our sporting grounds continue to be safely used by the community.
