5 minutes ago, Redleg said:

The new area is by far the biggest area so far suggested.

I am just unsure of the tunnel they are mentioning.

I know of two tunnels there, one to the inner car park for cars from Glen Eira Road and the other a pedestrian one from the inner car park to the grandstand. Not sure if there is another, but wouldn’t think that one would be suitable.

Anyway it sounds like it will finally be green lit. Great for the Dees.

There’s a tunnel off the roundabout on Kambrook Rd. Can someone put the article up?

Edited August 29, 2025Aug 29 by Roost it far

Melbourne is on the brink of ending its decades-long search for a permanent home base.

Negotiations between the Demons and key parties including the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve Trust have advanced significantly in recent weeks.

A new option being pushed by the race club would see Melbourne’s $100 million high-performance and administration facility built on land opposite the Caulfield train station where an existing tunnel beneath the track would be used for access to two full-sized training ovals.

Further progress is expected at a meeting involving Sports Minister Steve Dimopoulos next week.

Talks have gathered pace after Melbourne relented on a series of demands surrounding public access to the ovals, payment of rent and control of subleasing.

Melbourne insists it will be able to fully fund the project through a combination of government grants, cash and members’ donations.

Artists' impression of the Melbourne Football Club plans for new headquarters at Caulfield racecourse.

The Demons’ long-running failure to secure a home base was not lost on outgoing senior coach Simon Goodwin when he half-jokingly declared at his farewell press conference that he would not miss the daily commute out to Casey.

Former Melbourne chief executive Gary Pert was hired by the Melbourne board in 2018 largely on the promise of delivering a “state-of-the-art” training and administrative headquarters.

The club’s first ambitious bid to secure a site in Yarra Park near the MCG was embarrassingly shot down by the state government just hours after the club had publicly declared it a live option.

Other concepts were floated and abandoned above an AAMI Park car park and beneath the Bolte Bridge before the Dees changed tack to focus on Caulfield.

Artists' impression of the Melbourne Football Club plans for new headquarters at Caulfield racecourse.

The initial blueprint involved the construction of Melbourne’s headquarters in the southwestern wedge of the racecourse precinct before it was ditched earlier this year in favour of a new patch in the southeastern corner, near Neerim Road.

The latest option would see the Dees set up shop on the existing “Guineas car park” off Normanby Road as part of a wider development that will allow fans to hop straight off a train to watch their team practice.

Pert was pushed out last October but was retained as a “consultant” to help steer the Caulfield project, however insiders say he hasn’t been sighted in months.

“Pert has gone fishing and it might just be the only place where he lands a catch,” an insider said.

29 minutes ago, beelzebub said:

Link behind wall ?

Here you go:

https://archive.is/20250829212722/https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/melbourne-plans-to-establish-home-at-caulfield-racecourse-progress-key-meeting-set-for-this-week/news-story/289ce5e10a03bc0bfb03b14806efb27f

Option 3, Remove Paywall.

I would have thought the south east corner at 120 neerim road where the stables and sheds are was a more substantial site. The ‘guineas Carpark’ seems somewhat skinny and limited. It is however almost 9,000 sqm of land so surely would be enough for an indoor training facility and a multi story office with function facilities.

The indoor facility might also be built as a shared space inside the course.

On 12/08/2025 at 21:32, KozzyCan said:

It’s not about aesthetics, it’s about functionality. Which the Jack Dyer Stand was never going to be again.

Not sounding like an architect 's banker, functionality has destroyed a lot of very, very good buildings.

Anyone have a graphic depicting this new location ?

Cheers

1 minute ago, beelzebub said:

Anyone have a graphic depicting this new location ?

Cheers

It’s the guineas car park north east of the course

Be interesting to see the actual design and where everything goes. That car park is an odd bit of land.

Must utilise inside the track too.

And we wait.

Ver 23.8 must be not too far away 🤷‍♂️

18 minutes ago, Oxdee said:

It’s the guineas car park north east of the course

So we've gone from the SW corner to the SE corner to the NE corner lol

https://youtu.be/3JcmQONgXJM?si=399gxwvF4JUccvHx&t=97

For anyone who's been close to this, does this have much significance? "Melbourne relented on a series of demands surrounding public access to the ovals, payment of rent and control of subleasing."

4 minutes ago, At the break of Gawn said:

For anyone who's been close to this, does this have much significance? "Melbourne relented on a series of demands surrounding public access to the ovals, payment of rent and control of subleasing."

This reads like we'll be tenants at our own ground.

1 hour ago, Roost it far said:

There’s a tunnel off the roundabout on Kambrook Rd. Can someone put the article up?

That’s the one I said, which won’t be relevant to going from training base to ovals.

12 minutes ago, KozzyCan said:

This reads like we'll be tenants at our own ground.

I think but am not sure, that maybe the race club owns the guineas car park. If that is the case we would either need to buy or rent.

From the article it sounds like the MRC are pushing this site. It is huge though.

We will need to see from the announcement exactly what and where is the deal comprised of.

Edited August 30, 2025Aug 30 by Redleg

42 minutes ago, KozzyCan said:

This reads like we'll be tenants at our own ground.

Well it is Crown Land and we are leasing it. I think the MRC is paying $500k per annum if I read the Trusts financial statements correctly.

the most important thing is that it sounds like it's closer to the green light of the dees having a genuine home base than it has been since 1964

little bit of video on the guineas tunnel (you can't see much on google maps satellite)

Dont let the door hit you on the way out Pert [censored].

43 minutes ago, Redleg said:

I think but am not sure, that maybe the race club owns the guineas car park. If that is the case we would either need to buy or rent.

No it is crown land managed by Trust. Not sure where the MRC leasehold starts and finishes though. Regardless we will be paying rent probs > $500k per annum.

Commercially this new location is much better as it will be visible to everyone who uses the Dandenong/Frankston train lines

30 minutes ago, Fritta and Turner said:

No it is crown land managed by Trust. Not sure where the MRC leasehold starts and finishes though. Regardless we will be paying rent probs > $500k per annum.

Commercially this new location is much better as it will be visible to everyone who uses the Dandenong/Frankston train lines

You are correct the guineas car park is Crown land and part of MRC leasehold.

Given the MRC pays about $500k rental per annum for the whole course, it would seem unlikely we would be paying the same amount to the MRC for a sublease of a tiny portion of the whole property.

"A Step Closer" is all I needed to hear. I don't care about all the details.

Also to be noted is that the Trust is not a money making venture. It relies on Govt grants for its survival. Any proposal that increases the income of the Trust is a good start.

The auditors generals report, admittedly 10 years old, stated that the MRC was paying $57,300 for the grandstand lease. Furthermore, at that time the the race track, where the horseys run around on race day, was not part of the lease. Task now is to find out what the current, 2025, leasing arrangements are.

You just know we're going to get a raw deal when the "commercial in confidence" details are finally revealed.

On a more general note why would the MRC put the development in the prime public racegoers area thus closing off expansion when there's acres of land in less public areas. Something is not right

Spotted (30 Aug 2025): Brad Green and John Kanga (Melbourne Racing Club Chairman) are currently at Caulfield Racecourse in deep conversation.

41 minutes ago, wheaters31 said:

Spotted (30 Aug 2025): Brad Green and John Kanga (Melbourne Racing Club Chairman) are currently at Caulfield Racecourse in deep conversation.

No doubt discussing today's slop of a track.