Melbourne to have new home in Docklands

[e25 5]

No, you're right. It's only our money that we gave to the club to invest in the future of the club. Who knew the future could be 5 years? Better start living...

About two-thirds down the page and...

...we paid for our part of MOPT. It was $800k at the start of last season, with an eye to $1.8m...

Its inconclusive in my eyes.

It doesn't say what we get from the initial investment of $816K and a lot of water has passed under the bridge since then re: design changes and tenancy agreements.

But yeah, you have more to go on than I do.

My point of view is that these things take money and anywhere has to be better than our current setup, let alone the facilities that will be available at the MRS.

[beelzebub 22,729]

HAs money been spent by MFC on Bubbledome ...possibly.. but i cant find the 08'09 nor 07/08 financial reports to clarify what was spent as opposed to allocated.

The question is do you continue to pursue a flawed model as patently Bubbledome is for us or do you canvass , indeed embrace the possibility of a home...one thats just ours, not shared , purpose built and with its own MCG-like playing field ?

Sometimes you make investments and they dont come off...gee...thats a new one

The club pays for things everyday that dont necessarily come up to scratch...... ( many wear a jumper !! ) but that doesnt stop you exploring better options.

[John Dee 441]

Don't be so sure about that. The Australian Rugby Union are doing their absolute best to stuff this up at the moment!

Yes, I know, strange types those Rugger Buggers. Having said that, once the BubbleDome is up and running, they will sort themselves out and I do not doubt that there will be a Melbourne Rugby side.

[e25 5]

HAs money been spent by MFC on Bubbledome ...possibly.. but i cant find the 08'09 nor 07/08 financial reports to clarify what was spent as opposed to allocated.

The question is do you continue to pursue a flawed model as patently Bubbledome is for us or do you canvass , indeed embrace the possibility of a home...one thats just ours, not shared , purpose built and with its own MCG-like playing field ?

Sometimes you make investments and they dont come off...gee...thats a new one

The club pays for things everyday that dont necessarily come up to scratch...... ( many wear a jumper !! ) but that doesnt stop you exploring better options.

Besides the problem of not being able to fit in all of MFCs admin, the MRS is perfect.

And personally, I can see how its not ideal, but I'm sure there are some sections of the club's admin that aren't involved in the Football Dept and therefore can manage being a 2 min walk away.

If they were in the same building but 5 floors away it could have the exact same effect.

[beelzebub 22,729]

When we entered into dealings with Bubbledom we were a basketcase whose very existence was of dubious stability. It seemed like a salvation. All the trappings were there..bells whistles etc Congruent synergies mooted by various other sporting concerns were all to add to the pie. Its come to nought. Our requirements have now grown beyond anything that B-dome can cater to now or in the future.

Its a shared facility at best. where will we be on this pecking order ? what sort of value do we get now from this association ? Are we to be the poor cousins in this league again. even North wil have their OWN.. Doggies have their own kennel.

what for us...shared digs.. take your turn etc ??

The board that entered into this arrangement are not the same one taking this club forward. They need to explore all options. To not do so would be negligent.

[e25 5]

When we entered into dealings with Bubbledom we were a basketcase whose very existence was of dubious stability. It seemed like a salvation. All the trappings were there..bells whistles etc Congruent synergies mooted by various other sporting concerns were all to add to the pie. Its come to nought. Our requirements have now grown beyond anything that B-dome can cater to now or in the future.

Its a shared facility at best. where will we be on this pecking order ? what sort of value do we get now from this association ? Are we to be the poor cousins in this league again. even North wil have their OWN.. Doggies have their own kennel.

what for us...shared digs.. take your turn etc ??

The board that entered into this arrangement are not the same one taking this club forward. They need to explore all options. To not do so would be negligent.

You like to over-dramatize the situation to suit your argument.

Do you have any actual idea about the layout of the facility and what they will and won't have to share?

And Collingwood shared the Lexus Centre until just recently and I don't think it was a problem for them.

I'm waiting for you to bring up the old chestnut of 'its a rectangular surface' which conveniently ignores the fact they will be training on Gosch's Paddock which is outside. They probably have to walk farther to get onto the rectangular pitch from their change rooms.

If a Docklands facility was a realistic possibility I'd consider it, but right now the MRS is the best alternative we have that is realistically available.

And its a damn good alternative at that, except for it not being able to house all of our admin as the only drawback.

[beelzebub 22,729]

conveneiently you overlook the now and future as being distinctly different things.

Yes we will be at Bubbles for the forseeable..as thats what we've signed on for. So Enforcer et al.. you simply discount any possibility of exploring better options ?

If youve bothered to keepabreast of teh clubs standpoint they too are none to rapt that we wil still be separated as depts etc and that an all in one home is stil their( not just mine ) preference

Enforcer Im surprised youreas stupid as to suggestteh rectangular pitch angle.. far beneath your ability..as you know thats a farcial and irrelevent argument..takes away from anything else really you had to offer.

Melbourne needs a home... the club says so..not a shared tenancy. Bubbledome will be interim at best.

[drdrake 3,065]

The Bubbledome is a good option, we will have a good oval to train on once the Pies get Olympic Park, shared Gym and medical facilities. I'm sure the club is in talks with the MCG to increase office space when the Southern stand is developed. We have just signed an agreement with the MCC, the club has stated it wants to be a part of the MCC, the Southern Stand development needs to accomidate the MFC, Social club, our own change rooms in the Southern Stand, which we could of had but they are substandard at the moment.

Say no to Docklands, this is Robert Doyle trying to get us away from the MCC, don't fall for it.

[beelzebub 22,729]

Say no to Docklands, this is Robert Doyle trying to get us away from the MCC, don't fall for it.

???

why on earth would he want to do that ? what does he achieve in doing so ?

[e25 5]

conveneiently you overlook the now and future as being distinctly different things.

Yes we will be at MRS for the forseeable..as thats what we've signed on for. So Enforcer et al.. you simply discount any possibility of exploring better options ?

Well, actually you are looking at the not too distant future and the only a little more distant future. But I know very well they are different things.

Nothing wrong with exploring better options, but that is not what you are doing - you are picking imaginary holes in our soon-to-be arrangement and comparing it to a proposed Docklands facility put forward by the court jester and with not one concrete fact provided.

I don't see the point, beyond grinding an axe for your own pleasure.

If youve bothered to keepabreast of teh clubs standpoint they too are none to rapt that we wil still be separated as depts etc and that an all in one home is stil their( not just mine ) preference

I acknowledged this - I said it is the one drawback that I can see.

Did you even read my post or just skim over it to see what you could refute?

Enforcer Im surprised youreas stupid as to suggestteh rectangular pitch angle.. far beneath your ability..as you know thats a farcial and irrelevent argument..takes away from anything else really you had to offer.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you have had posts dedicated to this very aspect, which I laughed at at the time.

[beelzebub 22,729]

The Pitch at Bubble was never for us..its not part of any argument.. So Im a little bemused at that..lol..so which aspect do you refer..please

I dont skim to refute..per se. when so appears somethng to agree upon I'll happily acknowlwedge

The holes in the soonto be marraige of convenience ( bubles ) are hardly imaginary, they are acknowledged by all parties. Comparison is valid in so much as the proposed complex... both this one and one preiously mentioned by the State were to esentially be a everything in the box complex at our ( not shared ) disposal. Only the openparkland and ovals to have public access. So even though its only mooted its up for comparison in just thesame way Bubbledome was before it was built.

MOPT was once nothig more than conceptual. now its nearly there. You know for a fact that a Docklands complex is NEVER going to be built ?

[rpfc 27,692]

Right now I just want us to deal with what is in front of us: Casey from October to March and MCG/Bubbledome from March to September, intermittment use of either during off-peak times of the year.

GOOTJ!

Get Out Of The Junction.

Mission nearly accomplished, and I will criticise the club for its shortsightedness if this Docklands thing ever gets off the ground.

And I don't know Robert Doyle that well, but I do know motives. And they are rarely unselfish...

[beelzebub 22,729]

Right now I just want us to deal with what is in front of us: Casey from October to March and MCG/Bubbledome from March to September, intermittment use of either during off-peak times of the year.

GOOTJ!

Get Out Of The Junction.

Mission nearly accomplished, and I will criticise the club for its shortsightedness if this Docklands thing ever gets off the ground.

And I don't know Robert Doyle that well, but I do know motives. And they are rarely unselfish...

The thing is one neednt prevent the other. As weve seen with Bubble and indeed any venure it takes time. I wholeheartedly agree..lets GOOTJ .. lets improve teh quality of the resources to all factions of the club. But we neednt settle for that either. Should docklands get off the board it would be 5-6 at best before it was available..more likely 7-8 knowing this fair State but we can all but have our cake and eat it too..

We arent committed to MOPT for life.. currently only 5 years. In that time we will know what else is happening and plan the change accordingly. I dont see these two Options ( for want of a beter word ) as competing.

[DemonDan... 77]

... ... ...

Why all the arguement, 'for and against' - 'wont happen, will happen'??

IF WE PULL THIS OFF IT WOULD BE THE BEST THING TO HAPPEN TO THE MFC IN DECADES!!

Wont poke holes in the Oly Pk deal, doesnt interfere with the Casey deal, nothing to do with the MCC..

We will Finally have All our [censored] under the one building - admin and all.. and yes e25, that is a big deal, not just a concern!

We have 5 yrs to pull this magnificent feat off. If not we have 1st option on Oly Pk again if we want it..

Thats perfect!. We can only win either way, once the current situation is behind us.

WHY cant some people see this is the best opportunity ever and just hope for it to work out??

WHY cant we get a bit excited and have a chat about it and share what we've heard, or whatever??

2 replica MCG sized ovals, a winter home, a summer home - both with State Of The Art facilities, one with All-in-one on/off season admin/offices... all just for the Dees...

I hope like **** we can pull this off

Edited September 8, 2009 by DemonDan...

[drdrake 3,065]

Stuff the docklands, we need to be apart of the Southern stand redevelopment. The club wants to strneghten its ties with the MCC, a few months back we signed an agreement coming back as a section of the MCC, there is no reason why we can't get further office space a social club, Gym our own change rooms with top shelf recovery facilities at the MCG. Training accross the road at gooshes paddock is OK the current Oval that Collingwood use has a great surface, we will get this Oval if we want it, I'm sure we can walk accross a bridge. This is option 1, get the MFC at the MCG and the Southern Stand redevelopment is the ideal opportunity.

Our Board from day one has push that our home is the MCG, we helped build the MCG, Docklands is a smokescreen, the Southern Stand is the target.

[Matt Demon 1,389]

Stuff the docklands, we need to be apart of the Southern stand redevelopment. The club wants to strneghten its ties with the MCC, a few months back we signed an agreement coming back as a section of the MCC, there is no reason why we can't get further office space a social club, Gym our own change rooms with top shelf recovery facilities at the MCG. Training accross the road at gooshes paddock is OK the current Oval that Collingwood use has a great surface, we will get this Oval if we want it, I'm sure we can walk accross a bridge. This is option 1, get the MFC at the MCG and the Southern Stand redevelopment is the ideal opportunity.

Our Board from day one has push that our home is the MCG, we helped build the MCG, Docklands is a smokescreen, the Southern Stand is the target.

Last I heard this want possible? The MCC knocked It on the head.. If you go back and read Schwabs post on here he mentions this isn't possible. I haven't heard anything to suggest that the 30 mil revamp to the southern stand involves new facilities for the MFC. Obviously this Is what the club was pushing for but I think Its just a dream of everyone's. Lets get back to reality.

[Guest demons are hell]

3AW about to discuss this further...

this is not goin to be a new stadium it is goin to be a new training ground for the club

[_becks_ 35]

I guess Schwab and co. need to way up the pros and cons of the Docklands offer (if it goes through) and whats on offer with the new Southern Stand Developement/mopt in the short and long term. If the Docklands offer doesn't go through then you would think that we'd move back to the G after 5/10 years at Bubbledome, assuming we can get a good deal (i.e. facilities wise: being able to fit all admin under one roof, Social club, medical rooms etc.). However this still leaves us with a dilemma in regards to our training facilities, during the winter. Would we continue at Gosch's paddock, furthermore, how good is this oval for training?

If we went with the Docklands option then that may hurt us in the long run with the MCC, especially if we are wanting to get back on the MCC's good side. It sounds like the Docklands option would include everything under the one roof. I.e. Medical, gym, Social Club, all Admin and an MCG sized football oval...doesn't get much better than this! But this may bring up more questions. How much of the upkeep will we/Melbourne City Council/AFL be paying each year and will it effect us negatively being away from our spiritual home . I mean affect in regards to older generation supporters and maybe some younger generation, who may feel disenfranchised about the move away from our spiritual home.

Anyhow, without knowing all details, this is all guesswork.

[e25 5]

The Pitch at Bubble was never for us..its not part of any argument.. So Im a little bemused at that..lol..so which aspect do you refer..please

I dont skim to refute..per se. when so appears somethng to agree upon I'll happily acknowlwedge

The holes in the soonto be marraige of convenience ( bubles ) are hardly imaginary, they are acknowledged by all parties. Comparison is valid in so much as the proposed complex... both this one and one preiously mentioned by the State were to esentially be a everything in the box complex at our ( not shared ) disposal. Only the openparkland and ovals to have public access. So even though its only mooted its up for comparison in just thesame way Bubbledome was before it was built.

MOPT was once nothig more than conceptual. now its nearly there. You know for a fact that a Docklands complex is NEVER going to be built ?

It seems i misspoke, but you did mention it in one post - it obviously stuck out in my mind because of the irrelevance of the shape of the pitch, but Im sure it was all in jest.

http://forums.demonland.com/index.php?showtopic=16289

Anyway, I have other things I need to be concentrating on - I concede defeat.

Edited September 9, 2009 by Enforcer25

[e25 5]

And I don't know Robert Doyle that well, but I do know motives. And they are rarely unselfish...

It would be named 'The Robert Doyle Centre for Athletic Excellence' and it would be his legacy.

[rpfc 27,692]

Why all the arguement, 'for and against' - 'wont happen, will happen'??

IF WE PULL THIS OFF IT WOULD BE THE BEST THING TO HAPPEN TO THE MFC IN DECADES!!

Wont poke holes in the Oly Pk deal, doesnt interfere with the Casey deal, nothing to do with the MCC..

We will Finally have All our [censored] under the one building - admin and all.. and yes e25, that is a big deal, not just a concern!

We have 5 yrs to pull this magnificent feat off. If not we have 1st option on Oly Pk again if we want it..

Thats perfect!. We can only win either way, once the current situation is behind us.

WHY cant some people see this is the best opportunity ever and just hope for it to work out??

WHY cant we get a bit excited and have a chat about it and share what we've heard, or whatever??

2 replica MCG sized ovals, a winter home, a summer home - both with State Of The Art facilities, one with All-in-one on/off season admin/offices... all just for the Dees...

I hope like **** we can pull this off

2 emoticons, 2 underlined passages, and a bolded passage? Really?

This stadia/training venue was not mentioned by the foreman breaking ground on the project - it was mentioned by a bloke underfire for the City's booze/thug culture and looking for a 24 hour news break in service.

I will believe it when I see it. And by 'it', I mean any sign other than Doyle's mouth that this is going ahead.

As for your questions - WHY cant some people see this is the best opportunity ever and just hope for it to work out??

You cannot be serious. (Because I also believe CO2 Mineralisation is the 'best opportunity ever' (it's a carbon capture tech a few years away) but it shouldn't stop us from being realists and trying other things to combat climate change.)

Relying on 'hope' is, perhaps, what got us into this mess in the first place. Life isn't a Disney movie.

WHY cant we get a bit excited and have a chat about it and share what we've heard, or whatever??

We are having a chat, I said it would be waste over over a million in fundraised dollars, BB59 and E25 have also chatted plenty.

I suppose you are intimating that we should just laud this 'plan' without criticism, cynicism, and without question.

But, you know, whatever...

[mauriesy 6,920]

The proposed ground at Docklands is simply an idea in Robert Doyle's head. As I understand it, his proposal is just one of several for that area of Docklands. It depends on what developers are prepared to involve themselves with and pour cash into.

As for getting out of the Junction, the Rectangular Stadium is proposed for completion "early in 2010" (here's the webcam). If we train at Casey over this coming summer, we could be moving in there for the 2010 season proper. The Junction is most likely already a thing of the past.

[demon3165 2,337]

Stuff the docklands, we need to be apart of the Southern stand redevelopment. The club wants to strneghten its ties with the MCC, a few months back we signed an agreement coming back as a section of the MCC, there is no reason why we can't get further office space a social club, Gym our own change rooms with top shelf recovery facilities at the MCG. Training accross the road at gooshes paddock is OK the current Oval that Collingwood use has a great surface, we will get this Oval if we want it, I'm sure we can walk accross a bridge. This is option 1, get the MFC at the MCG and the Southern Stand redevelopment is the ideal opportunity.

Our Board from day one has push that our home is the MCG, we helped build the MCG, Docklands is a smokescreen, the Southern Stand is the target.

Lets clear this one up, there is eleven sporting sections within the MCC do you know how many play their sport at the G? one, and that's us, so that will not hurt us at all. I for one will leave it up to the Board to plan our long term future as they have not done a bad job so far.

[demon3165 2,337]

And the plot could thicken here!!

http://www.theage.com.au/national/council-...90913-fm7c.html