The round ball and the oval ball are coming together - not on the paddock, but after the game.
Rugby club Zingari-Richmond, netball club College Netball and now football club Mornington AFC have decided to share the facilities at Montecillo grounds.
It is believed to be the first time a football club and a rugby club have shared facilities in Dunedin, but both clubs feel it is the way of the future.
The clubs have identified the challenge to their sustainability lies not with "opposition'' codes but with the myriad of individual activities now available to both players and officials, and to the pressure of today's work environment.
Sharing the facilities provided them all with "sustainability'' insurance in this increasingly challenging environment, club officials said.
The rugby club and netball club have shared the facilities in the past few years and Mornington AFC was now jumping on board.
Zingari-Richmond club captain Stephen Baughan said his vision for the future was to be part of a multi-sport community facility, with family values paramount. After-match functions will celebrate the junior players as well as the seniors.
The rugby club has seven junior sides and three senior sides.
The football club has nine junior sides and two senior teams, while the netball club has seven netball teams through the senior grades.
Mornington president Mike Cummings said the football club had never really had a clubrooms, so the players and officials were looking forward to having a real home.
"We've always had trouble retaining players after they go away to play for their schools ... now what is being offered here is a community we can be part of,'' Cummings said.
"All the young players go to the same school. Sure we may play different sports, but our passion is sport.''
College senior A captain Sophie Napper said with all netball games played at the Edgar Centre it was good to come back to a clubrooms which was a base and meet other players.
It had worked well in the past three years since the netball club had joined up.
Baughan said in the future, the Montecillo ground might end up having a football pitch as the club became more aligned.
