Merewether United soccer club has kicked off debate on an ambitious plan to reimagine Myamblah Oval.
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The club released a concept plan for its home ground which includes a cafe or bar on Scenic Drive, parking on Myamblah Crescent, walking trails through the surrounding bush, an off-leash dog area, partially shaded bleacher seating, two full-size pitches and fenced junior fields.
The scheme also suggests building a car park on Scenic Drive, near the entrance to Burwood sewage plant, for mountain bike riders and sports field users.
The plan, prepared by Moir Landscape Architecture, also includes a nature play area, outdoor fitness equipment, relocated cricket pitch and nets and a new amenities building.
The club posted the proposal on Facebook and invited comment after City of Newcastle placed its draft 10-year Strategic Sports Plan on public exhibition.
The venue has only one full-size soccer pitch, but the club's plan suggests adding another by turning both of them perpendicular to Myamblah Crescent.
Merewether United president Scott Ellis said the concept plan was designed to be a starting point for discussions about the kind of opportunities available at Myamblah.
Upgrading the club's facilities would also help its likely application for inclusion in a women's National Premier Leagues competition when the local first-grade competition raises its status.
"It started off because of the facility criteria for women's premier league, but David Moir, the landscape architect, was really good and got us to think about the bigger picture and not just the soccer part," Mr Ellis said.
"Parking's always been an issue at Myamblah, so one of the things we wanted to try to address was that.
"There's a lot of wasted space at Myamblah from a football perspective that we can't use for training and so on.
"And the plan includes female-friendly facilities, which we don't have."
Mr Ellis plans to hold an open day at the ground in the near future so residents and other stakeholders can provide their feedback.
The council's draft sport strategy is on exhibition until October 7.
It recommends drainage, lighting and amenities upgrades at many fields across the city and increasing use of some grounds to take the pressure off the 18 per cent which are over-used.
The consultants who prepared the strategy found soccer, with 27.5 per cent of the participants in 13 "primary" sports, was easily the most popular, followed by touch football and Oztag with 21.1 per cent, cricket (13.1), rugby league (10.7), netball (7), tennis (5.6), rugby union (3.9), equestrian (3.6), athletics (3), softball (1.8), Australian rules (1.7), baseball (0.7) and croquet (0.2).
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