The masterplan's technical report said the oval had facilities that "did not meet current standards and as a result could not host certain events or accommodate participation from a broad cross section of the community".

The Horsham Sport Facilities Study, created as part of the draft City to River masterplan, recommended several upgrades to the oval to enable regional AFL and cricket sporting events to be hosted.

"Upgrades required may include expansion of the size of the field; a new multi-purpose pavilion and clubrooms, including fully accessible and female friendly facilities; and covered spectator areas. Delivery of a second netball court would assist in club training and matches," the study said.

RELATED: Horsham council, user groups discuss City Oval future

Horsham Football Club member Bruce Hartigan said the suggested changes in the masterplan would not suit the club's needs.

"The plans as they stand don't meet our requirements as a club. If the ground becomes the suggested size, then the clubrooms, grandstand and scoreboard will all go, and we wouldn't be able to be here anymore," he said.

Mr Hartigan said the the club had been trying to get an AFL practice match to Horsham "for many years".

"We would need an aerodrome with a long enough runway to land a plane to carry the players because they will not travel by bus from Melbourne. You also have to have provisions in your pavilion for warm-up. They won't come if the ground is not big enough," he said.

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AFL guidelines say the ideal playing area for a new playing field is 165 metres in length goal-to-goal, and 135 metres in width boundary-to-boundary.

Furthermore, the preferred playing field orientation is north-south from goal-to-goal to minimise the impact of the sun during day matches, and boundary run-offs on all newly constructed grounds should be five metres.

In August, Horsham's Richard May created a mock-up design of the oval in accordance to AFL standards and said it wouldn't fit at the proposed site, as listed in the council documents.

Mr May's mock-up appears over the top of the draft master plan map. It shows the oval would be too big for the site if built to standards, with the oval covering Hocking Street and part of Sawyer Park, and not allowing space for a grandstand and clubrooms.

Horsham Rural City Council chief executive Sunil Bhalla told the Mail-Times that the oval's positioning was conceptual and would require further consultation with sporting bodies. Mr Bhalla said it was common that masterplan maps were not drawn to scale.

"My understanding is you can actually accommodate an AFL-size oval - but that is for the detailed design process. The consultants have looked at the requirements for AFL," he said.

Horsham Football Club members met with Horsham Rural City councillors Josh Koenig and Alethea Gulvin on Thursday to discuss the club's concerns.

Cr Koenig said the masterplan was a "visionary draft".

"We got all that feedback from the submission and are going through it. Meetings like this are very helpful for us," he said.

The council will discuss the draft masterplan at Monday night's ordinary meeting.

Councillors will consider whether to endorse a recommendation to "commence concept and schematic design process for City Oval and Sawyer Park area which considers options for the configuration of City Oval and Sawyer Park layout".

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