Switching on the new lights at Miller’s Reserve were, from left, Boronia Junior Football Club president Phil Watson, seniors president ScottBy Paul Pickering
THE lights are finally on at Miller’s Reserve Oval in Boronia, but still nobody is home.
While the Boronia Junior Football Club’s ground has been untenable during the pre-season due to drought conditions, Wednesday night’s official switching-on of the new lights was a sign of better times to come.
Boronia FC president Scott Cartledge was delighted to now have a floodlit facility for his junior teams to train on when the season begins in April.
“With the old lights you could pretty much only see half the ground,” he said.
“We’re hoping that providing a better training venue for the juniors will help them improve their skills as well.”
Mr Cartledge said that the provision of a second venue to support evening training sessions will also reduce the pressure on the senior club’s home ground.
“It’s also about easing the traffic on Tormore Reserve.
“We could even look at having seniors train (at Miller’s Reserve) during the year if Tormore is in bad condition.”
For La Trobe MP Jason Wood, who performed the ceremonial switch-on, the project is the realisation of a $50,000 commitment made during the 2004 federal election campaign.
“It is local community organisations like the Boronia Football Club that make the area such a wonderful place to live, and I am delighted to be switching these lights on today.”
Mr Cartledge acknowledged that the announcement was a ray of light in an otherwise bleak summer for Knox sports administrators.
He can only hope that come April, the new lights will be illuminating the faces of eager young footballers, instead of the barren expanses that greeted him on Wednesday night.
