Elcho Park is a soccer facility located on Gibbons Road in
Lara, Victoria
Lara is a town in Victoria, 18 km north-east of the Geelong CBD, inland from the Princes Freeway to Melbourne. Its population at the 2021 census was 19,014.
History
Lara and its surrounding land was occupied for tens of thousands of y ...
, a northern suburb of
Geelong
Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...
.
It is owned privately by the Australian Croatian Soccer Association Geelong. The tenants of the facility are
National Premier Leagues Victoria
The National Premier Leagues Victoria (NPL Victoria or NPL VIC) is a semi-professional soccer league in Victoria, Australia. The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues, and is the highest level within the Victorian soccer league syst ...
side
North Geelong Warriors FC
North Geelong Warriors Football Club, formerly known as North Geelong Croatia, is an Australian professional soccer club from the regional Victorian city of Geelong. The club currently competes in the Victoria Premier League 1, Australia's third ...
.
North Geelong Warriors played their first season out of Elcho Park in 1986. The first competitive league game at the venue was a 3–3 draw between North Geelong and Essendon City on 29 March 1986.
The main grandstand, which is situated between the clubrooms and the pitch, seats about 200 people. The total capacity of the facility is much larger, with an abundance of standing room all around the main pitch.
In addition to the main pitch, there is also pitch 2 and pitich 3 (both grass) and over 100 parking spaces inside the facility.
In 2015, it was announced that the facility would be receiving $283,000 in council and state funding to upgrade the change rooms as part of a $1.1 million development that included two female change rooms. It was the first time the privately owned facility had been granted public funds.
In 2022, the Geelong Council granted the club $47,000 to contribute to the help maintenance cost for the 3 pitches for the year.
In 2024, North Geelong Warriors Football Club received $255,000 to upgrade pitch lighting on pitch one allowing for elite level night football at Elcho Park.
External links
North Geelong Warriors
References
Soccer venues in Victoria (state)
Sport in Geelong
Buildings and structures in Geelong
1986 establishments in Australia
{{VictoriaAU-struct-stub