Leederville Oval: Labor Government pledges $1.5 million if re-elected, but WA Gather Round bid still uncertain

Leederville Oval will get a $1.5 million contribution under a re-elected Albanese Labor Government, but the local Labor MP has remained coy over whether it’s the missing piece for WA’s bid to host an AFL Gather Round in Perth. The ground — the ageing home of two WAFL clubs in East Perth and Subiaco — will have purpose-built women’s change rooms for WAFLW and AFLW games. It comes after State Government funding last year restored the playing surface, and AFL-grade lighting — making the ground able to host night games, including in a potential Gather Round, in which all 18 AFL teams play in one city, in WA. Vincent mayor Alison Xamon said the funding was a small step towards a future vision of the ground. “We are always looking to be able to put more and more investment into this oval, and make sure that we are investing in WAFL as a league,” Ms Xamon said. “This is the next step to make sure that we can actually really invest in this oval generally, but also specifically, WAFLW, and also hopefully the AFLW, and this can be part of getting to have things like the Gather Round come here to Perth.” Perth MP Patrick Gorman said while the League benefits were important, there was a wider bonus for the community. But Mr Gorman, the Assistant Minister to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, refused to say whether the upgrades would strengthen any WA bid. “I’d love to see it here, but I also recognise there’s a lot of negotiations between the AFL, the state government and the venues,” Mr Gorman said. “I’m not going to prejudge those negotiations.”