Repairs to damaged lighting at La Fiamma’s Salvatore Sciuto Stadium has disrupted its local and Perth league fixtures.

A rusty base on one of the stadium’s main pitch light posts caused it to become unstable and fall during severe weather over the June long weekend. The fall also caused damage to part of the fence surrounding the pitch.

All four light posts were subsequently removed by the City of Greater Geraldton, with no confirmed timeline for repairs to be completed at this stage.

With no lighting at the venue, the Perth and local women’s teams — who both play night fixtures, have been forced to find alternative venues or kick-off times.

Club president Mark Gray said lighting has been an ongoing issue since 2018 and hoped the issue could be resolved soon.

“When the city took over most of the lighting assets around that period of time, our lights were still sitting there having issues,” he said.

“Most other lighting around town is used for training purposes, ours are used for games, as well as training.

“It was something that we didn’t need to have, especially while it’s been probably the most successful season we’ve had in a good 20 years.

“To have that disrupting the season, I’m hoping it doesn’t, and we can have workarounds. We take each weekend as it comes, and then it takes a lot of liaising with the Perth team that’s travelling.”

The Little Athletics Centre has been used as an alternative venue, but will cause substantial financial loss because club facilities are not accessible to supporters during games.

For the Perth team, La Fiamma has the flexibility to reschedule games to 4pm at the latest to ensure games are played in daylight.

Their two home games since the lighting was removed have been moved to the earlier kick-off time.

City chief executive Ross McKim says the council was working with La Fiamma to provide short-term alternatives to ensure minimal disruption.

“The City of Greater Geraldton appreciates the value sport brings to our community and continues to invest in the venues that allow people to come together and participate in the healthy lifestyle the Mid West is famous for,” he said.

“As a precautionary safety measure, the three remaining light poles were removed to allow for detailed inspection.

“An assessment is now under way to investigate options for restoring lighting at the facility, including both interim and long-term solutions.”

La Fiamma’s Perth team is currently second in the Belt Up Men’s Amateur League competition after falling 4-2 to Woodvale in Perth last weekend.