A place called home

[Outside fifty 967]

As I sit in my backyard I can hear the music catching on the northerly wind from the western oval, a celebration in full flight. Last night cars paraded up and down my street in Yarraville honking their horns endlessly. Pedestrians sang themselves hoarse on the way home. The inner west was a cauldron of celebration and happiness, a community brought together by a football club and a collective dream realised.

Having been born and bred in the west I couldn’t be happier for them and yet at the same time I can’t help but feel envious and a little sad. The bullies have always had a sense of place and represent their community with pride. Where do we stand? We have no real home, no place that is our and ours alone. This I believe holds us back in ways that are near impossible to measure, intangible if you will. I believe the most pressing off field issue we face is our lack of a true home. A place to gather and celebrate, to commiserate when we lose and to rub shoulders with our boys. A place where our supporters history and passion is embedded into the psyche of our players. For too long I have felt that a disconnect between the football club and the supporters exists and I believe this is due in part to our lack of a sense of place, our own turf. 

[Lucifers Hero 39,826]

Totally agree 'Of'!  I put this in another thread a few hours ago:

"It made me realise that we the only club that doesn't have a 'heartland - a geographic area and suburban oval to call home.  Think: Punt Rd oval, Victoria Park, Princes Park, Waverley, Kardinia Park, Arden St, Windy Hill, and soon Moorabbin oval for the Saints etc. 

Gosch's paddock and Casey Fields just don't cut it. 

When we win the Premiership we will certainly flock to somewhere but its sad that our great club does not have an obvious geographic place to call home - a place which is ours and nobody else's; a place that means something to the locals as well as to us die hard dees fans".

So I think it is not just our own football oval we lack, we lack a geographic region, a 'heartland' connected to our club.  Somehow we surrendered the inner Melbourne heartland.  Even with the new AFL 'Next Generation' Academy we don't get any of it back.  It mainly goes to Essendon with a small bit to Geelong and St Kilda.

The only real opportunity I see to have anything like the other clubs is to work with whoever 'owns' Toorak Park (where we hold some family nights) to have a strong presence.  It is where the club is trying to rebuild our 'heartland' support but it has no historical connection to us.  Altho' that could change if it was renamed the 'Robbie Flower Oval' and we trained there. 

Failing that we are destined to be nomads.

[Diamond_Jim 12,590]

I enjoyed the Junction Oval (those few times we were in the finals)

Unfortunately owned by Cricket and therefore was a difficult summer training ground.

Would be interesting how Collingwood regard Victoria Park now that they have the old Olympic swimming pool as their base.

Is Toorak Park the old Prahran oval. If so I would not be against it but it probably has cricket issues as well. Not sure about ground size for training purposes. Would like to hear more.

Casey and the Paddock don't cut it in m view.

[praha 11,240]

17 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Totally agree 'Of'!  I put this in another thread a few hours ago:

"It made me realise that we the only club that doesn't have a 'heartland - a geographic area and suburban oval to call home.  Think: Punt Rd oval, Victoria Park, Princes Park, Waverley, Kardinia Park, Arden St, Windy Hill, and soon Moorabbin oval for the Saints etc. 

Gosch's paddock and Casey Fields just don't cut it. 

When we win the Premiership we will certainly flock to somewhere but its sad that our great club does not have an obvious geographic place to call home - a place which is ours and nobody else's; a place that means something to the locals as well as to us die hard dees fans".

So I think it is not just our own football oval we lack, we lack a geographic region, a 'heartland' connected to our club.  Somehow we surrendered the inner Melbourne heartland.  Even with the new AFL 'Next Generation' Academy we don't get any of it back.  It mainly goes to Essendon with a small bit to Geelong and St Kilda.

The only real opportunity I see to have anything like the other clubs is to work with whoever 'owns' Toorak Park (where we hold some family nights) to have a strong presence.  It is where the club is trying to rebuild our 'heartland' support but it has no historical connection to us.  Altho' that could change if it was renamed the 'Robbie Flower Oval' and we trained there. 

Failing that we are destined to be nomads.

Collingwood has moved from Collingwood, up the road to Jolimont. They celebrated at AAMI Park and Gosch's. I don't see why we couldn't claim this prime real estate as our own, but in standard Melbourne fashion we've let Collingwood dominate and take over what is in a way our "spiritual" home: that is, the MCG and its surrounding area.

You can ship us off and try to build some sort of family culture in Toorak and the like, but the reality is that our "home" is the MCG. We are unique in that while other teams are born out of suburbs and/or cities, we've actually been born out of a stadium.

Some may see this as a bad thing, but few sporting clubs in the world have as romantic an affiliation with a stadium as we do the MCG. There is no other home for us. Collingwood's home will always be Vic Park, Carlton's Princes Park, Essendon Windy Hill and so on and so on. 

We should embrace Melbourne and the city a little more. I see that Jackson and Co are doing this, bundled with some slow infiltration of south-eastern suburbs.

But our home is the MCG.

I suspect that if we win the flag, our Sunday Family Day could very well be at AAMI Park. But our home is the MCG. And it's so special that if its number one resident can't celebrate on it.

Edited October 2, 2016 by praha

[Flamingdees 227]

All too true. We've also used the bentleigh club for some of our functions that I've attended. 

 

Anyway was was thinking about the bentleigh club the other day. 

Do we take full ownership of it?

If so when?

Will we likely sell it to developors and make a bucket load of $$$?

 

its in a crap spot for a pub/bistro etc.

 

Anyway I'm sure it has been discussed in here but just wanted to know where we stand.

 

Thanks heaps

 

 

[Salems Lot 2,535]

Methinks if we were to reach the pinnacle we would meet out the front of gate 3 at the G on the Sunday.

[Demon Disciple 12,141]

The Lions, Swans and even West Coast to a degree have the same problem, in that there isn't really a distinct location that is "theirs".

If the Swans have the SCG, then we have the MCG. We were forged by the MCG, or MCC more precisely. I would've thought the MCC or Yarra Park is where our celebration's would be located (should they ever come)

 

[Sir Why You Little 37,046]

Our home is The MCG. Anywhere else is just a facade. 

When the 13th is won i hope all supporters meet at The 'G ( or just stay on overnight!!)

[george_on_the_outer 7,603]

A lot of the Victorian clubs are no different than us, and longing for the past doesn't necessarily add anything to the operations of a football club in the 21st century. 

St.Kilda trying to move back to Moorabbin.....but at what cost?  Collingwood no longer at Vic park.  Richmond retain Punt road butwere gifted $12M by the federal government to upgrade.  Hawthorn long left Glenferrie, now Waverley, but moving to Keysborough in the future.  North still training on a substandard ground with training facilities provided again by government.  Essendon at Tullamarine.

Supporters will go to wherever the club is.  The suburban supporter bases no longer exist, except for that of the Western Bulldogs. It is why they changed their name to not reflect a single suburb.

Bentleigh club is owned by the MFC, but the pokies are tied to the location ( and numbers limit) within the council boundaries. As I understand if we were to sell, we would have to purchase somewhere else in the same council area before selling, to move the pokies licence. So you would need a current pub with no pokies, or a complete greenfield operation, with all the attendant objections from residents.  Doing nothing, without spending a bucketload of cash on alternatives is probably the only viable option today.

[DV8 2,271]

4 hours ago, Outside fifty said:

 

As I sit in my backyard I can hear the music catching on the northerly wind from the western oval, a celebration in full flight. Last night cars paraded up and down my street in Yarraville honking their horns endlessly. Pedestrians sang themselves hoarse on the way home. The inner west was a cauldron of celebration and happiness, a community brought together by a football club and a collective dream realised.

 

Having been born and bred in the west I couldn’t be happier for them and yet at the same time I can’t help but feel envious and a little sad. The bullies have always had a sense of place and represent their community with pride. Where do we stand? We have no real home, no place that is our and ours alone. This I believe holds us back in ways that are near impossible to measure, intangible if you will. I believe the most pressing off field issue we face is our lack of a true home. A place to gather and celebrate, to commiserate when we lose and to rub shoulders with our boys. A place where our supporters history and passion is embedded into the psyche of our players. For too long I have felt that a disconnect between the football club and the supporters exists and I believe this is due in part to our lack of a sense of place, our own turf. 

 

 

I absolutely agree Of.

Its like as a club, we don't have a heart, so all the supporters try to make up for it.  Home is where the heart is.   The koori people know this too well. It's their spiritual heart.  It's the place they understand/love, & it binds all they're culture's together, out of respect for it.

We so need a home base, away from the 'G'.

[Adam The God 30,261]

43 minutes ago, george_on_the_outer said:

A lot of the Victorian clubs are no different than us, and longing for the past doesn't necessarily add anything to the operations of a football club in the 21st century. 

St.Kilda trying to move back to Moorabbin.....but at what cost?  Collingwood no longer at Vic park.  Richmond retain Punt road butwere gifted $12M by the federal government to upgrade.  Hawthorn long left Glenferrie, now Waverley, but moving to Keysborough in the future.  North still training on a substandard ground with training facilities provided again by government.  Essendon at Tullamarine.

Supporters will go to wherever the club is.  The suburban supporter bases no longer exist, except for that of the Western Bulldogs. It is why they changed their name to not reflect a single suburb.

Bentleigh club is owned by the MFC, but the pokies are tied to the location ( and numbers limit) within the council boundaries. As I understand if we were to sell, we would have to purchase somewhere else in the same council area before selling, to move the pokies licence. So you would need a current pub with no pokies, or a complete greenfield operation, with all the attendant objections from residents.  Doing nothing, without spending a bucketload of cash on alternatives is probably the only viable option today.

Didn't PJ announce earlier in the year that we've given up all our pokies?

[Dr. Gonzo 24,222]

8 minutes ago, A F said:

Didn't PJ announce earlier in the year that we've given up all our pokies?

I don't think so

[Adam The God 30,261]

1 hour ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I don't think so

Fair enough.

[DV8 2,271]

5 hours ago, praha said:

Collingwood has moved from Collingwood, up the road to Jolimont. They celebrated at AAMI Park and Gosch's. I don't see why we couldn't claim this prime real estate as our own, but in standard Melbourne fashion we've let Collingwood dominate and take over what is in a way our "spiritual" home: that is, the MCG and its surrounding area.

You can ship us off and try to build some sort of family culture in Toorak and the like, but the reality is that our "home" is the MCG. We are unique in that while other teams are born out of suburbs and/or cities, we've actually been born out of a stadium.

Some may see this as a bad thing, but few sporting clubs in the world have as romantic an affiliation with a stadium as we do the MCG. There is no other home for us. Collingwood's home will always be Vic Park, Carlton's Princes Park, Essendon Windy Hill and so on and so on. 

We should embrace Melbourne and the city a little more. I see that Jackson and Co are doing this, bundled with some slow infiltration of south-eastern suburbs.

But our home is the MCG.

I suspect that if we win the flag, our Sunday Family Day could very well be at AAMI Park. But our home is the MCG. And it's so special that if its number one resident can't celebrate on it.

 

We were not born out of a stadium.  The stadium was born out of Us.

I believe that the game was played in the fields where nowadays, a stadium has since grown.  On our patch.  And gradually the club has been fenced in, & fenced off from many supporters.

So the locals, who were local residents, had easy access to the tigers, pies, bloods, the lions up hoddle street way. And the saints down at the junction.

https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Edinburgh+Gardens/@-37.8187113,144.9969371,16029m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0xf0456760531e920!8m2!3d-37.7874987!4d144.9831612

 

[MadAsHell 4,212]

As I've mentioned several times, I'm happy with the clubs current alignment with Casey, however having said that. If the club was to look to create a base closer to the the city where we could have all of training/admin & social facilities there are two options, both of which would cost big $.

First and probably the most ideal scenario is that we take over Toorak Park and set up shop there. Obviously this would require an upgrade in facilities including of setting up a social club while helping fund/build other facilities at Orrong Park down the road for Old Xavs & Preston FC & CC to move into.

The other, which is a few Km's North of our hearland, but closer then Casey, is to set up at Brunswick Street Oval. Continuing on with PJ & Bartlett's vision of connecting with the city, we all know that Brunswick Street is a Melbourne icon and it would put us in the middle of a massive hub for the younger hipster generation of supporters and business. Again, a lot of $ would be required to get the proper facilities in there, but there's something romantic about re-openning/bringing back to life a former AFL venue. Kick the VAFA Fitzroy team to the back of Edinburgh Gardens on the field that runs along Alfred Cres. But so as not to totally jump on Fitzroy's grave, maybe name the old grandstand the Murray/Neitz stand after two former 300 champions of each club.

As i said, either option would cost massive $, however would help us at least establish a proper base for supporters to meet/gather and be part of the club.

Edited October 2, 2016 by AngryAtCasey

[Dr. Gonzo 24,222]

We would never move North of the Yarra as much as I'd love it. Our base is in the East/South-East. I don't mind our current setup just need to develop it a bit. Casey is a lost cause though I can't see anything ever coming from that.

[DV8 2,271]

35 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

We would never move North of the Yarra as much as I'd love it. Our base is in the East/South-East. I don't mind our current setup just need to develop it a bit. Casey is a lost cause though I can't see anything ever coming from that.

We already are >

https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Edinburgh+Gardens/@-37.8187113,144.9969371,16029m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0xf0456760531e920!8m2!3d-37.7874987!4d144.9831612

the Mcg is North of the Yarra.

 

[jackaub 1,402]

Bentleigh club is a realestate deal Do the development and bank the money then move on

[jackaub 1,402]

How about The Cricket ground in St Kilda road use the money fom The bentleigh club development to do the deal

[Flamingdees 227]

39 minutes ago, jackaub said:

Bentleigh club is a realestate deal Do the development and bank the money then move on

Was valued at 9M when we took it over in 2011 on a 10 year agreement. 

Land alone would have to be worth a crap load. 

Would be an awesome cash grab for the club if we could develop it and sell it off. 

[jackaub 1,402]

So use the money for a "home" and ask the Government to subsidise it just like Collingwood and Hawks an Essendon

[Chris 2,892]

The only right place for our sunday celebrations would be the G, there is no other home and there shouldn't be. The G also has an open day on the sunday where people walk all over the turf so it really wouldn't be too much more to just hold our celebration day there at the same time. 

As someone above suggested, we could just stay all night partying until the celebration the next day!

[TRIGON 4,783]

We could always live the stereotype and all meet up at a private school's ski lodge?

 

[Bitter but optimistic 22,241]

There is plenty of vacant land in the vicinity of Romsey Manor.

An ideal location for our social hub. I would even donate some entertainments.

[TRIGON 4,783]

16 minutes ago, Bitter but optimistic said:

There is plenty of vacant land in the vicinity of Romsey Manor.

An ideal location for our social hub. I would even donate some entertainments.

The entertainent would be like Woodstock, only without the wood?