THE fight to retain Lavington in the name for the area's major sporting venue, presently undergoing a $19.6 million redevelopment, has intensified.
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"Happy" Wetmore, whose involvement with Lavington Football Club dates back to the late 1950s, and the club's president when it finally won entry into the Ovens and Murray league in 1979, Brian Chalmers, have vigorously opposed Lavington being dropped from the name to make way for a regional moniker such as Albury-Wodonga Stadium.
"It has been Lavington for 200 years and the football club has been affiliated with five leagues since 1921 and always been known as Lavington," Wetmore said..
"It's been a good enough for them to have it called Lavington when they used to have the big sports carnival which went around the world.
"But they now want some fancy name with no mention of Lavington.
"People in Lavington would be up in arms about this if they knew about it.
The sports ground was built soon after the establishment of the Lavington Sports Club which later became the Lavington Panthers.
The council purchased it in 2009 for the bargain price of $1.2 million.
Mr Chalmers said it was vital Lavington stayed in the venue's name.
"We are all firm believers it should be named after a past person of the club whether they be a player, official, or whatever, in recognition of the work put into the club if there was to be a change," he said.
"But if you talk to anyone involved in the club, football, cricket, or whatever, they are very keen on the name Lavington being retained.
"A lot of people fought long and hard over the years to have Lavington in the name."
The council website states: "In order to brand the venue as one of the leading sport and event centres in regional Australia, we're looking for a name that will represent our city and its facilities so that it resonates with audiences across the nation."
