It is clear that the premier football ground in Warrnambool isn’t capable of handling the amount of foot traffic it receives each season.

The deplorable centre square isn’t the fault of city council workers who maintain the turf — they do an admirable job in trying circumstances — but of the weather.

Warrnambool cops too much rain to have a ground which remains lush and firm despite almost daily use between April and September.

The issue came to a head again on Sunday when sloppy conditions marred the North Ballarat Rebels-Geelong Falcons match.

Falcons talent manager Michael Turner said the elite under 18 competition deserved better. He had a point, even if his choice of words could have been better.

East Warrnambool, as a co-tenant which injects its own cash into the facility, had every right to use the ground on Saturday.

But Turner’s words were familiar — Reid Oval hosts too much football. We all know the problem, but what about a solution?

The two tenant clubs, Warrnambool and East Warrnambool, aren’t going to move bases for the sake of the playing surface. That’s a non-negotiable.

So any fix must look at moving the “other” matches on top of domestic fixtures — school football and the TAC Cup most notably.

School football can and should be played anywhere else. But TAC Cup clubs have specific requirements set down by AFL Victoria.

The solution has to be upgrading a second venue — both the playing surface and the off-field facilities — to meet those requirements.

Friendly Societies’ Park is the obvious option. Warrnambool, with its 740-millimetre average annual rainfall, can’t afford to have one premier ground.

Yes, much money is going into redeveloping the Reid and once finished it will compare well with the best venues in country Victoria.

But that won’t lessen the impact of thousands of boot studs chopping up the turf.

Upgrading the Friendlies must be on the agenda as the next major project in our civic leaders’ minds.