That seems to be an accurate figure based on which Jimmy told the meeting I attended earlier in the week.

What was Paul Gardiner thinking? When and how were we going to afford this? Drop the $250,000, strike a deal with the G and move on. Explain to those who donated that they can have the money back or invest it in a realistic and affordable future for the footy club. I doubt anyone would take it back. We could take the $500,000 each year pay the MCG a nominal amount and invest the rest in debt reduction and then some assets.

If the MCC owned us completely then it would be in their best interests to make sure that ALL our matches were profitable.

Just putting it out there.

Hmmm. I wonder if Jimmy & Co. can strengthen that relationship to that degree.

I have no problem with a Home Base at the 'G. "coming home to Momma" just like the old days when we were a hated club unlike now where we are a basket case in the eyes of the opposition supporters. The Dome was a good idea, but the budget has skyrocketed from what i have heard.

I do like the G to be OUR home. Its important. ITs our ground. The other teams are tenants.

this is all crap

i know its AFL

if u look at the lexus centre in the videos they make on CTV, all of the collingwood players hang out at the lexus centre, where physio is, and theres a tv room, theres the pool, theres the gym and its not far from an oval

we have been screaming for our admin and training facilities to be in the one place and it gets thrown away in one swift movement

so whats this great new plan we here of? have our admin in the G? share the pool at the G (is there one?) and the gym with heaps of different things

and walk 1k to have a kick of the footy?

where would the change rooms be? the players lockers? wheres the history?

what happened to walking off the oval right into the changerooms/gym?

this is crap..this is too spread out

please can we move admin to the bubble dome and have everything there, it would be soo much better

this is all crap

i know its AFL

if u look at the lexus centre in the videos they make on CTV, all of the collingwood players hang out at the lexus centre, where physio is, and theres a tv room, theres the pool, theres the gym and its not far from an oval

we have been screaming for our admin and training facilities to be in the one place and it gets thrown away in one swift movement

so whats this great new plan we here of? have our admin in the G? share the pool at the G (is there one?) and the gym with heaps of different things

and walk 1k to have a kick of the footy?

where would the change rooms be? the players lockers? wheres the history?

what happened to walking off the oval right into the changerooms/gym?

this is crap..this is too spread out

please can we move admin to the bubble dome and have everything there, it would be soo much better

Please!

We can't afford it

Unless the MCG can provide us with state of the art facilities which would be offered at the bubble stadium, then it would be just wrong to stay there.

Melbourne needs the state of the art facilities of the players will walk.

Unless the MCG can provide us with state of the art facilities which would be offered at the bubble stadium, then it would be just wrong to stay there.

Melbourne needs the state of the art facilities of the players will walk.

I doubt the MCG would be upgrading with second rate facilities.

Or maybe they're getting the shipping container from the Junction Oval and putting it on Brunton Av

Yes but our entire football department will be based in the redeveloped Southern Stand, paying virtually no rent and having exclusive use. This is a good decision. Bubble dome was always a [censored] and should never have been part of our plans. It had ongoing costs in the vicinity of $500,000 per annum(don't quote me here, this is just what I heard) Jimmy is making our home the MCG. All games there, training that Gosch's Paddock, Gym at the G, Football dept. at the G. Closing off the top tier when we play low pulling teams, meaning we can make money each and every week. This is a watershed moment, albeit a little scary

This is GREAT, exciting stuff, MFC, as long as ONE THING HAPPENS, We Must Have Our Change Rooms In The Southern Stand On Match Day, so the Players run out Past the Melbourne Football Club Members & Their KIDS!!!

if we abandon MOPT bubble dome then the $1million raised by the club could be shifted to another project. The money actually doesn't got to he club it goes to a foundation and is earmarked for training facilities for the club. I could not see therefore any reason why we could not move into the G and earmark the $1million to go towards developing Casey Fields (if that is still in the plans)

this is all crap

i know its AFL

if u look at the lexus centre in the videos they make on CTV, all of the collingwood players hang out at the lexus centre, where physio is, and theres a tv room, theres the pool, theres the gym and its not far from an oval

so whats this great new plan we here of? have our admin in the G? share the pool at the G (is there one?) and the gym with heaps of different things

and walk 1k to have a kick of the footy?

where would the change rooms be? the players lockers? wheres the history?

what happened to walking off the oval right into the changerooms/gym?

I've worked in construction work most of my working life, it's not difficult to build an laps pool indoors in an existing structure during refurbishment. This sounds like the rebuilding poss', of the reinstatement of relationship between the MFC & MCC which could feasibly see us with poss' some restricted training access on the "G" maybe before home games. this mixed with training @ 'gosch's' <_< , & caey fields , could be good.

this sounds much more affordable as we embark on rebuilding the ailing DEES.

I'm all for it.

I don't care anymore about where we go.

JUST [censored] CHOOSE AND SETTLE DOWN I'M SICK OF WAITING!!!!!!!!

(Yes I know Jim is only two months into the job but I want to see progress, this ground issue WILL make or break us).

Reported on SEN this morning that we will pull out of the new stadium deal. The main reason being that we want to keep our administrative offices at the MCG. We will train at Gosch's paddock and lose our $250,000 deposit.

There goes the $1000 bucks i donated.....

I don't care anymore about where we go.

JUST [censored] CHOOSE AND SETTLE DOWN I'M SICK OF WAITING!!!!!!!!

(Yes I know Jim is only two months into the job but I want to see progress, this ground issue WILL make or break us).

This season is all about next season & our future beyond. Don't panic, have faith, & trust the people that are in charge are experienced FOOTY PEOPLE who shed tears of blood for the club.

We are seeing this year onfield changing of the guard, (players), & now in full witness of the changing off field leadership taking place.

Don't panic about the press, they don't run the club, nor do they run your life.

Be proud 'n' brave Dees.

This season is all about next season & our future beyond. Don't panic, have faith, & trust the people that are in charge are experienced FOOTY PEOPLE who shed tears of blood for the club.

We are seeing this year onfield changing of the guard, (players), & now in full witness of the changing off field leadership taking place.

Don't panic about the press, they don't run the club, nor do they run your life.

Be proud 'n' brave Dees.

Well said DL. We are also starting to see a bit of mongrel in the club which has been missing for far too long. eg. dropping underperforming senior players and clearing out board n management that arent part of the future. There is some serious moving and shaking happening and I like it!

Well said DL. We are also starting to see a bit of mongrel in the club which has been missing for far too long. eg. dropping underperforming senior players and clearing out board n management that arent part of the future. There is some serious moving and shaking happening and I like it!

Thanks mate.

This is GREAT, exciting stuff, MFC, as long as ONE THING HAPPENS, We Must Have Our Change Rooms In The Southern Stand On Match Day, so the Players run out Past the Melbourne Football Club Members & Their KIDS!!!

Don't more members sit on the opposite side of the ground (Olympic stand), near the MCC members?

Looks that way from where I sit, in the Southern.

This season is all about next season & our future beyond. Don't panic, have faith, & trust the people that are in charge are experienced FOOTY PEOPLE who shed tears of blood for the club.

We are seeing this year onfield changing of the guard, (players), & now in full witness of the changing off field leadership taking place.

Don't panic about the press, they don't run the club, nor do they run your life.

Be proud 'n' brave Dees.

You're right of course. Why should I be worried about the club wasting the vast amounts of money and hard work that went into securing training faciliites and a top-notch sports administrator for a CEO. We have an ex-ruckman in charge! And obviously the last democratically elected mob who occupied the board could not have possibly have cared about the club. It's not like they donated years of work for no renumeration just to secure record membership and an imporved financial postion...

You're right of course. Why should I be worried about the club wasting the vast amounts of money and hard work that went into securing training faciliites and a top-notch sports administrator for a CEO. We have an ex-ruckman in charge! And obviously the last democratically elected mob who occupied the board could not have possibly have cared about the club. It's not like they donated years of work for no renumeration just to secure record membership and an imporved financial postion...

Securing training facilities we probably can't afford and why wouldn't you want to move our footy dept back to the G where it belomgs

Top notch self promoter who's ideas were to tie us to the elite who have never helped us and secure our next Kelvin Templeton

$5 million debt is hardly an improved financial position

I think you'll find our record membership came once Jim came on board

Don't more members sit on the opposite side of the ground (Olympic stand), near the MCC members?

Looks that way from where I sit, in the Southern.

Years ago the players race was situated with the MFC members to one side of the race whilst the MCC members was on the other side of the race. With the MCC rebuilding the Northern stand, they changed the position of the race so that the players race is totally within the bounds of the MCC.

If your not an MCC member, then you can't gain access to be next to the players coming on & off the ground, something kids & fellow supporters enjoy.

Further erosion of contact with the lifeblood of the footy team, the Grass Roots supporters. Or if you like, the fully paidup members who are really in the outer.

No wonder the club can't get people to the games.

To the best of my comprehension, we are only pulling out our admin from the Rec Stadium.

We should still be paying for the training facilities and using them.

If we are pulling out completely then someone has to make that clear.

You're right of course. Why should I be worried about the club wasting the vast amounts of money and hard work that went into securing training faciliites and a top-notch sports administrator for a CEO. We have an ex-ruckman in charge! And obviously the last democratically elected mob who occupied the board could not have possibly have cared about the club. It's not like they donated years of work for no renumeration just to secure record membership and an imporved financial postion...

Of course they cared, but that doesn't make it right the direction they took over the last 5 years.

where have all the people at the games gone then if you think they were so good?

Securing training facilities we probably can't afford and why wouldn't you want to move our footy dept back to the G where it belomgs

Top notch self promoter who's ideas were to tie us to the elite who have never helped us and secure our next Kelvin Templeton

$5 million debt is hardly an improved financial position

I think you'll find our record membership came once Jim came on board

Of course they cared, but that doesn't make it right the direction they took over the last 5 years.

where have all the people at the games gone then if you think they were so good?

1. The main reason I don't want the footy dept back at the 'G is because I want it SOMEWHERE. I feel the whole "MCG is our ground" notion to be deluded and besides which, I think the training facillities will be poor in comparison to the bubble dome. I think that if we establish a homeground that is undeniably Melbourne Demons it will do much to improve our supposed "brand weakness". Ideally this would have been the Lexus center, in the circumstances the bubble dome is best. The MCG will simply "do us slowly" to paraphrase Keating.

2. 106 days in the job 40 under an unsupportive administration. $115,000 down the toilet for what? Ego?

3. 1999-2003: aggregate losses of $8.52 million. Since then? 4 years of profit followed by an admittedly dissapointing projected loss for of $1.5-2m this season (on the back of sharp increases in football operations funding I might add). What would YOU call it?

4. I think you'll find that our record membership came on the back of last years, wait for it, record membership. But thanks very much to Jim for enticing those last few hundred to come on board this year. (Something he could have done when he was not on the board I might add).

5. I'm glad you agree that they cared because a lot of this "big jimma bleeds for the club" talk seems to imply that this is somehow a differentiating characterisitc.

6. The people at the games have gone to the snow like they do every year. Probably moreso this year due to our poor on-field performance (and good snow season). Thankfully they have at least been buying memberships in record numbers...

How did we go from thinking we were 2.5 mil in debt, and suddenly we're now almost 5.

Surely they couldn't have hidden it in annual reports, but also it couldn't have been simply accrued this year.

Also Haze, how do you see the Bubbledome as "undeniably the Melbourne Demons" when it will be shared between us, the Storm and possibly a future union team? Not to mention we couldn't even train on it.

6. The people at the games have gone to the snow like they do every year. Probably moreso this year due to our poor on-field performance (and good snow season). Thankfully they have at least been buying memberships in record numbers...

From what I've heard, it's been a poor snow season, with nothing to speak of until ~2 weeks ago.

Unsurprisingly, on-field performance is correlated with crowd attendance at the Dees, like most other sporting Clubs.