While Victoria has world-class stadia, the smallest stadium in Victoria with broadcast quality lighting for professional cricket is GMHBA Stadium at Kardinia Park in Geelong which holds 40,000 fans. This initiative will bring Junction Oval into line with comparable sporting venues around Australia such as North Sydney Oval, Queensland’s Alan Border Field and the WACA in Western Australia.

Yes, lights will create evening match opportunities for State, Premier and pathway development teams.

Cricket Victoria will fund the construction of the lights which in a significant investment in the future of the game and to deliver a long-term asset to the St Kilda and Albert Park Lake precinct.

CME are one of Australia’s most experienced and established sports lighting companies with extensive experience at this level. Recently, CME upgraded the sports lighting at the Victorian State Netball Hockey Centre and have worked on small and large venues across Australia.

The light towers will meet all required engineering and compliance standards. The footings are independently engineered and range from 10m deep to 16.5m deep.

The lights are a high-performance LED sports technology with an engineered lighting control solution that has full control of each globe or ‘luminaire’ individually.

Compared to its halogen light predecessor, LED lighting dramatically reduces any light spill due to their directional nature. A light spill report has been developed which demonstrates that spill will be minimal.

No, the lighting levels will depend on the type and level of cricket to be played.

Port Melbourne Oval, Frankston Oval, Ikon Park in Carlton, Whitten Oval in Footscray.

As per the Amendment to the Port Phillip Planning Scheme, the lights will be operated up to 11pm for broadcast or streamed events and 10pm for all other events. Lighting at a reduced level may be utilised for an additional 30 minutes to allow the safe exit of patrons from the Junction Oval. The lights will be allowed to operate up to 45 nights per year.

Cricket Victoria and Cricket Australia release match fixtures prior to each season which will determine if they are a day/night (D/N) fixture at the Junction Oval. These fixtures are published well in advance of the season. The number of nights that the lights will be utilised will be determined through the planning approval process.

Construction will be planned to minimise any disruptions to local residents and businesses. We will work with City of Port Phillip and Parks Victoria to ensure there is a comprehensive traffic plan in place when Lakeside Drive may be slightly disrupted. Any noise is expected to be comparable with any other existing building sites in the St Kilda area.

The effect on parking will be similar as is the case for day matches presently held at the Junction Oval.

Cricket Victoria has developed a Heritage Protection Plan to ensure these important heritage structures are protected and safeguarded for future generations.

Site establishment activities will start in November 2025, while construction will begin in December 2025. The project is expected to be completed by August 2026.

Standard working hours will be 7.00am to 5.00pm. High-noise activities (eg. drilling) will be scheduled between 8.00am to 4.00pm to minimise disturbance.

Noise will be managed through: - Use of modern, well-maintained equipment with compliant noise levels. - Idling of machinery kept to a minimum - Heavy drilling planned in consolidated blocks rather than sporadically during the day