Light up for night footy

CASEY residents will now be able to enjoy the spectacle of night-time football with the recent installation of new high-powered lights on the VFL oval at Casey Fields in Cranbourne.
The $80,000 project, jointly funded by AFL Victoria ($60,000) and the City of Casey ($20,000), has increased the lighting capacity nearly five-fold – from 50Lux to 240Lux – which allows night football matches to be played at the venue.
Casey chief executive officer Mike Tyler said the lights are a significant addition to the VFL facilities at Casey Fields which has already become a major venue on the VFL and AFL calendars, and will allow greater flexibility in hosting football events outside of the traditional weekend timeslots.
“The VFL has programmed two Saturday night matches in 2008 at the venue and I’m particularly looking forward to the blockbuster game between traditional rivals Casey Scorpions and Frankston on 5 April,” Mr Tyler said.
The oval in question got a taste of Australian Football League (AFL) action for the second year running on Saturday when Melbourne and North Melbourne battled it out.
More than 8000 fans crammed into the region’s premier sports facility to watch the AFL Challenge match, which the Kangaroos won by 51 points.
Essendon and Hawthorn clashed at the venue at this time last year.
The practice game was both teams’ last before the home-and-away season kicks off next week.
2008 night matches:
Casey Scorpions v Frankston – Saturday 5 April.
Casey Scorpions v Box Hill – Saturday 12 April.
The reserves game starts at 4.10pm and the seniors game starts at 7pm.