Vandals have destroyed the playing surface on Kyla Park Oval at Tuross Head, leaving Council ground staff devastated and AFL players scrambling to move fixtures before their season has even started.
The surface was torn up by vehicles hooning on the wet grass on Sunday night, leaving the field a muddy mess that will potentially take months to repair.
Eurobodalla Council has reported the matter to NSW Police, who are investigating the matter.
According to Council’s Parks Coordinator Wayne Hutton, repairs could cost around the $10,000 mark and will take a huge amount of staff resources.
“The ground is just mush and will need quite a bit of repair.
Above: Kyla Sports Oval vandalised night of 19 March 2017
“Sportsgrounds must be stable underfoot so simply topdressing the grass isn’t enough. There are lots of big divots out of the ground and these are holding water, and until they dry out we can’t put any machinery on the ground to get started.
“I’m devastated for the asset, but more so for the AFL committee who have been putting in so much effort behind the scenes. That’s the real heartbreak.”
Mr Hutton says he can recall the Shire’s ovals being damaged by vandals on a few occasions over the past decade, but never to this degree.
The AFL season starts at the end of April and the club has told Council they will arrange to move their early home games to away fixtures to allow time for the ground to be repaired.
Council is asking residents with any information about the vandalism to contact NSW Police. Media Release
