Warrnambool City Council confirmed it had waived winter sports ground fees and said summer fees would also be considered as the season approaches.

Last year, the council revealed it spent about $750,000 to maintain the city's reserves and pavilions, and recouped about $140,000 each year from clubs to help cover costs.

Three Hampden football league clubs will now be spared the $10,084 seasonal fees while seven Warrnambool and district league clubs have had their $5041 seasonal fees waived - that's a saving of at least $65,500 for Warrnambool-based clubs.

AFL Western District commercial and operations manager Matt Ross said news of the waiver was a welcome relief for clubs that have been hit hard by the bans on sport during the lockdown.

"Clubs definitely welcomed it. It definitely makes those volunteers' lives a little easier in planning their books for the coming year," Mr Ross said.

Clubs had expected to received their user fee bills for the season in April but instead, last week, they were notified by the council they would not have to pay up this year.

"That's a significant saving for our clubs. Anywhere from $5000 to $10,000," Mr Ross said.

"It's a big relief. It's certainly not the silver bullet for the troubles we find ourselves in but it definitely assists."

Mr Ross said they would continue to talk to the council about seeking some fee reductions for future years with the financial impact from this season likely to be felt for years to come.

"We'll continue to work with council on those things but this is a really good start to support especially the football and netball clubs," he said.

He said he was aware that for many of its sponsors, business revenue was down 50 to 60 per cent because of the coronavirus, and that impact was expected to flow through to clubs.

"It puts a squeeze on sponsorship revenue," he said.

Mr Ross said there were more than 3000 registered football and netball participants across Warrnambool's municipal area - including players, coaches and officials.

Mr Ross said research out of Latrobe University showed that for every person that's a player there's another 10 people reached within the community, whether they be a parent, spectator or sponsors.

"We're really advocating the importance of our clubs to council and this is a really good start for us," he said.

He also thanked the council for its work on progressing the Reid Oval redevelopment.

Football Victoria club ambassador for Ballarat and western Victoria Tony Francis said the decision to waive the fees was fantastic, and soccer clubs were getting support in different ways from other councils across the wider region.

"All sporting clubs needs as much help as they can get at the moment," he said.

Warrnambool Wolves president Brett Gasper thanked the council for its decision which would save the club about $5000.

"We've lost all our money coming in. We've had to put a freeze on our registrations as well. We still get bills coming in for our utilities but to get a chop out on our ground usage for the winter is fantastic," he said.

"It's a substantial amount of money, no doubt about it."

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