Fletcher Football Club's Sarah Buckton has welcomed a petition calling on Newcastle council to install fencing and CCTV at its sportsgrounds to prevent vandalism.
In the past year, Buckton said there were seven instances that the club knew of where vehicles had driven onto playing fields and tore them up.
But that was not the club's main concern.
Buckton, a player, parent and volunteer on the committee of Fletcher Football Club, said increased dirt bike activity at Federal Park, including during training and games, was a safety risk.
"There's instances, more than one, that kids have been training on a Tuesday and a Thursday, four o'clock in the afternoon, and we've got motorbikes tearing up the fields in between the kids ... just terrorising the kids," Buckton said.
"They just rip through the fields, and the kids are standing there petrified because they're loud, they're noisy, and they think they're coming to get them.
"About a month ago, we were playing on a Friday night and they came through the field and just kicked the balls away while we were trying to play.
"That's been the issue this year. I've had parents reach out to us and say that this is a concern for them, their kids are afraid."
On Friday morning, Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery and members of Newcastle's sporting community launched a petition calling NSW Parliament to urge City of Newcastle to do more to protect parks and ovals.
"This is on the back of years of sustained frustration from community members who have asked council to do something and have been repeatedly ignored," Ms Hornery said in a social media post.
The petition follows a string of incidents, including damage to Hamilton North's Smith Park in June when a car doing doughnuts left deep tyre tracks across the main playing field, forcing Hamilton Azzurri to relocate matches.
That same month, Kentish Oval was vandalised just before a weekend featuring 36 rugby league games.
"The community are asking council to step up and provide fencing and CCTV to protect their fields and ovals, which the sporting clubs pay an enormous amount of money to use each year," Ms Hornery said.
"When the vandalism happens, it is usually the volunteers, mums, dads and grandparents who step up to fix the mess, usually at their own cost.
"The most terrible cost is in loss of playing time. Often most devastatingly, for our kids' community sport."
After the damage to Kentish Oval and Smith Park, council said it was investigating options to reduce vandalism.
However, with more than 150 sports fields, 250 parks and a network of public infrastructure across the city, the council said it was not realistic to prevent every act of theft or vandalism.
"In the past few years we have invested several million dollars upgrading sporting facilities, in some cases installing bollards and sandstone blocks and, on occasion, fencing to deter vandalism," a council spokesperson said.
"Unfortunately, this does not always work. Last December almost $100,000 in sandstone blocks were stolen at Smith Park. Similar thefts occurred at Lake Macquarie."
Buckton said Fletcher Football Club had asked council to install some kind of barrier to protect the playing fields.
"We were told fencing around the field is going to prevent users of the park," Buckton said.
"I fail to see how fencing around the field, not the whole ground, but around the playing pitches, is going to prevent users of the field.
"I think it'll increase it if we don't have to keep fixing fields. We're not the only users of that field.
"Christian churches teams also use the field at the same time as as us. Athletics use the field, cricket. The schools use them for carnivals. They're all impacted."
South Wallsend Junior Soccer Club committee member Brad Milford said fencing would help prevent motorbikes, e-bikes and pushbikes causing damage to Walker Fields.
"We're tucked away so no one can see us, so people think that they can just get down there and destroy the fields for 500-odd players that we've got registered within the club," Mr Milford said.
"When the grounds get wetter, you're dealing with it more often. They don't seem to care.
"Last weekend, we had to move games to a different location because of damage. In previous years, we've had to relocate games because of it as well.
"We've said for a long time that CCTV and fencing off around the perimeter of the field would be ideal.
"So, we're very supportive of it, and hopefully we can get the signatures that we need, and we can then hopefully work with council to start protecting the fields a little bit better."
The petition can be signed at Ms Hornery's electorate office at 67 Nelson Street, Wallsend.
Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery wants to put a stop to vandalism at Newcastle sports fields, launching a petition today calling on City of Newcastle to install fencing and CCTV at its grounds.
The petition follows a string of incidents, including damage to Smith Park in June when a car doing doughnuts left deep tyre tracks across the main playing field, forcing Hamilton Azzurri to relocate matches. That same month, Kentish Oval was vandalised just before a weekend featuring 36 rugby league games.
Ms Hornery said she had repeatedly been told that destructive acts at council-owned facilities regularly disrupted sports matches.
"If someone broke into your house twice in 12 months, you would take immediate steps to ensure that adequate CCTV was installed, you would perhaps erect a fence around your property as a means of keeping unwanted people out. Why is Newcastle council unable to do this for its assets?" Ms Hornery said.
"Yet this is what has happened to multiple Newcastle sports fields and facilities, the grounds are trashed by vandals, and clubs are left to pick up the pieces for their kids to play sport."
After the damage to Kentish Oval and Smith Park, City of Newcastle said it was investigating options to reduce vandalism.
However, with more than 150 sports fields, 250 parks and a network of public infrastructure across the city, the council said it was not realistic to prevent every act of theft or vandalism.
A City of Newcastle spokeswoman said just two months ago the council agreed to a three-year trial of CCTV in Beaumont Street.
"The NSW government has agreed to fund 50 per cent of that cost, hopefully the Member for Wallsend's petition offers similar," she said.
"In the past few years we have invested several million dollars upgrading sporting facilities, in some cases installing bollards and sandstone blocks and, on occasion, fencing to deter vandalism.
"Unfortunately, this does not always work. Last December almost $100,000 in sandstone blocks were stolen at Smith Park. Similar thefts occurred at Lake Macquarie."
The council spokeswoman said that when it had installed measures to prevent vehicle access in the past, vandals had used motorbikes or e-bikes to cause damage.
The spokeswoman said fencing off grounds to restrict public access contradicted the council's commitment to accessible and inclusive facilities.
"Furthermore, when we have proposed fencing suburban sports grounds, the community have rallied against them, such as was the case at Regent Park in New Lambton," the spokeswoman said.
Newcastle Football general manager Chris Brain welcomed the petition, saying the association supported measures to reduce vandalism.
Mr Brain said while perimeter fencing may not be palatable to the community, strategic pitch fences around playing surfaces could be considered as a pilot.
"Open community consultation, CCTV, clear signage, council ranger presence and hefty fines are all crucial measures that our association supports wholeheartedly on behalf of our 11,000 members," Mr Brain said.
The Western Suburbs Rosellas Rugby League Football Club grounds have also been targeted by vandals.
Cars caused serious damage to two fields the night before a round of junior matches. Club secretary Dave Wild said the vandalism caused significant angst to club members and playing ranks of both sides facing off that day.
"I accept that the fields are open to public usage as well as by our club, however, we would actively support the installation of bollards or fencing to prevent this type of action moving forward, and to allow usage to remain unchanged," Mr Wild said.
"CCTV is also a useful preventative or investigative tool to combat the ongoing damage caused to our fields."
Wallsend District Cricket Club president Nathan Holloway said too often volunteers were left to clean up the mess.
"Any measures that help reduce vandalism and improve the protection of our sporting grounds would go a long way towards ensuring the ongoing availability, success and sustainability of local sporting clubs for future generations," Mr Holloway said.
The petition can be signed at Ms Hornery's electorate office at 67 Nelson Street, Wallsend.
City of Newcastle urged community members to respect public spaces and report any vandalism to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
