Training Ground?

[Demon Dynasty 17,109]

5 hours ago, Better days ahead said:

This thread just goes around in circles.

Does anybody have any idea what is going on with our homebase other than our past president and board keep telling us the MCG precinct is the preferred site .

 

Sadly i suspect that would appear to be the default fall back mantra as the board, until now, has not tabled one serious alternative solution for its fan base/members to mull over.

At this point one can only deduce that the board/power brokers are so stubborn about having a new base close to "their/our" precinct that they just wont concede and refuse to even consider an alternatives a little further out.

We have sat on our hands for 35 years and there has been ZERO supporter/member back lash.  As a result the board appears to be happy to continue to tread water on a viable solution and/or do same until one near the G presents itself.  There is zero pressure for them to act it would seem, so, they don't.

If we do ever end up in a new base, many on here (possibly myself included) will be pushing up daisies.... R.I.P.

[whelan45 203]

I think the most important part of any new training facility is it needs to be super attractive to players and staff. That means the space needs to be large enough to house all facilities with room to grow and in a location where it's attractive for players and staff to live nearby or that it's an easy commute.

Any facilities for fans in my opinion are secondary. However honestly if it has the above, it basically covers fans needs also. Players and staff also want access to good coffee and food, either onsite or nearby.

If the MCG precinct can provide this then great. Otherwise in my opinion we should not be wedded to it

[Mickey 4,731]

6 minutes ago, whelan45 said:

I think the most important part of any new training facility is it needs to be super attractive to players and staff. That means the space needs to be large enough to house all facilities with room to grow and in a location where it's attractive for players and staff to live nearby or that it's an easy commute.

Any facilities for fans in my opinion are secondary. However honestly if it has the above, it basically covers fans needs also. Players and staff also want access to good coffee and food, either onsite or nearby.

If the MCG precinct can provide this then great. Otherwise in my opinion we should not be wedded to it

This is why we need to be careful about settling for Casey. Players might be happy to travel while we are winning, but if we drop down the table again it's going to be hard to attract players.

The last thing we need is to fall in to a St Kilda/Seaford situation (acknowledging the facilities were apparently crap). 

[Lord Nev 13,512]

7 hours ago, Rusty Nails said:

You (and i'm sure a number of others on here) therefore must feel there is no need to connect / please the fans at all.  Just take their $$ and continue on continuing on no matter what happens on or off the field.

Nowhere have I said that or even implied it. Massive reach there.

What I said was a grand final party venue is the least important aspect of what we need in a training and admin base.

[dazzledavey36 55,359]

7 hours ago, Rusty Nails said:

Chicken and egg LN.  I think its the reverse.  Had we had that base i think there may have actually been a GF party or two at said base already and we would probably not be talking about the need for a base or the lack of any silverware since 64.

I'm not changing the point at all.  The base is a must, not just for training & admin, for the fans as well.  Without fans and without considering them in the picture, the club in its own right (having no real face to face connection with fans at any point, outside of game day) effectively is running itself in isolation and for what purpose?  To please the people in positions of power, the coaches and FD, the players and the media?

Without the fans there is no point in the club existing at a professional level.

Even a small country club eg; Barnawartha Tigers has a raison d'etre, a soul, a base and possibly a better connection with its fan base at this point as a result of having a place to call home.  It's part of the fabric, the essence of any half decent club imv...

 

You (and i'm sure a number of others on here) therefore must feel there is no need to connect / please the fans at all.  Just take their $$ and continue on continuing on no matter what happens on or off the field.

Played there two weeks ago.

It's a [censored] ground. One of the worst I've played on for a while. 

Strong football club though..

[whatwhat say what 22,948]

More and more players - particularly those with families - are moving down the peninsula as a vague “tree change” from inner suburban living

I don’t think Casey as a home base for the MFC is as unattractive as it used to be 

[dpositive 1,692]

Nearly every argument ,discussion point, can be answered with the one solution.

DOCKLANDS/PORT MELBOURNE.

A new and emerging population base attracted to a new local entertainment and sporting facility with large outdoor and ndoor spaces has been approved by the MFC, which is putting a considerable amount of capital into this proposal. We appreciate that the MCG precinct our tradional home is already over utilised and Port Melbourne which will welcome the next generation of Migrants will benefit from a similar space said the new president. The premier said such an innovative and progressive use of the site was totally supported by the government to utilise the area as an example of building a total community, something that few previous governments had considered when the West gate docklands area was created.

Source my imagination 

Theres plenty more just work on it.

[old dee 23,872]

7 hours ago, Rusty Nails said:

Sadly i suspect that would appear to be the default fall back mantra as the board, until now, has not tabled one serious alternative solution for its fan base/members to mull over.

At this point one can only deduce that the board/power brokers are so stubborn about having a new base close to "their/our" precinct that they just wont concede and refuse to even consider an alternatives a little further out.

We have sat on our hands for 35 years and there has been ZERO supporter/member back lash.  As a result the board appears to be happy to continue to tread water on a viable solution and/or do same until one near the G presents itself.  There is zero pressure for them to act it would seem, so, they don't.

If we do ever end up in a new base, many on here (possibly myself included) will be pushing up daisies.... R.I.P.

You have my vote RN. Spot on, I am quietly confident I will be.

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,909]

12 hours ago, Rusty Nails said:

I think in the past pre getting kicked off the MCG (training) around 1985 i would have agreed with you chook.  Those roots have long since passed now.

As has been mentioned ad nauseam on this thread, all potential options within a stone's throw of the G (borrowing OD's terminology) have now been exhausted.

 

Not if Collingwood can be convinced to leave. Others have said in this thread that Collingwood is looking at a new home in Studley Park. I have no idea if this is true, but Collingwood and its supporters have no emotional attachment to Olympic Park (or Yarra Park). If better facilities are made available than what they have now, Collingwood will go. That frees up the site for us. And while that might seem like we would be settling for "second best" (after all, if Collingwood leaves for somegthing better then by definition, they would be "second best"), that's not to say they can't be upgraded to make them equal with the best.  

[drdrake 3,187]

As soon as we accept that we will use Casey as our Summer base and that we will get a HQ at Gosch's Paddock the better we will be.  Whether that HQ will be on the corner of Hoddle and Swan or Over the Carpark near the current training oval will the only real sticking point.  The next is getting funding so we need to find our angle, you need to have something that adds to the community even if it is a small percentage of the complex, I really hope we are looking at the Reach Foundation located in the Jim Stynes center of being the best that you can be.

[Mt. Dee-Maaan 608]

3 hours ago, whatwhat say what said:

More and more players - particularly those with families - are moving down the peninsula as a vague “tree change” from inner suburban living

I don’t think Casey as a home base for the MFC is as unattractive as it used to be 

who? ex dee great cam pedersen? i am unaware of any current player that lives on the peninsula and travels into the city for training/games?

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,909]

29 minutes ago, Rocky said:

who? ex dee great cam pedersen? i am unaware of any current player that lives on the peninsula and travels into the city for training/games?

I may be wrong, but I think Max Gawn lives on the peninsula.

[Mazer Rackham 14,971]

4 minutes ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

I may be wrong, but I think Max Gawn lives on the peninsula.

Well that explains the massive beanstalk out the back of Red Hill.

Also why "fee fie fo fum" can be heard at times on dark nights when the wind is right.

[Grimes Times 1,278]

48 minutes ago, Rocky said:

who? ex dee great cam pedersen? i am unaware of any current player that lives on the peninsula and travels into the city for training/games?

The coach

[Dees2014 2,377]

On 10/13/2020 at 1:50 PM, Diamond_Jim said:

Recent article by Caroline Wilson linking the Bomber's woes to their move to Tullamarine away from Windy Hill.

Not sure I agree with her attempted conclusions but it is an alternative view. For example she questions the Hawks' move to Dingley but lauds their earlier move to Waverley as a masterstroke.

"That Essendon have ended a crisis-ridden season in a crisis of their own making is beyond dispute. And while this unfolding predicament is man-made it's worth revisiting once again the Bombers' ill-fated decision to abandon their spiritual home and move to an isolated new base at Tullamarine......

Boasting a footprint double the size of Windy Hill, the cavernous Hangar, futuristic fittings and fixtures, an MCG-sized training oval and one the dimension of Marvel Stadium has not exactly spelt success for the Essendon Football Club."

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/bombers-lost-their-soul-with-their-move-from-windy-hill-20201008-p563e6.html

Think Bombers’ difficulties  are far more deep seated than their training base. Try their leadership at all levels starting with Hird for a start. They will be a long way off for quite some time..

[Dees2014 2,377]

On 10/13/2020 at 2:18 PM, Diamond_Jim said:

As we haven't had a home for thirty plus years it's hard to see where we fit. The article seems to be more about the big multi function corporate structure and the physical location vs history. She seems to ignore the advantages offered by indoor training facilities.pools etc.

The club stuff could have been dealt with better by replicating the Windy Hill trophy room or similar perhaps. Tullamarine is fast becoming the Waverley of the North as the suburbs such as Gisborne, Sunbury etc grow ever larger so I wouldn't call it outer Melbourne. (And of course it's a lot closer than Casey).

Olympic pool precinct is our natural home and we should have jumped at the chance to move there when we were first offered it before Collingwood moved there. Having said that it was an understandable decision not to given our parlous financial state at the time, although l wonder whether all the sophisticated financing options were fully examined at the time. If the Woods move, it would be a perfect home for us, including at last a permanent social club.

[Sir Why You Little 37,133]

22 hours ago, old dee said:

We are off to Casey then SWYL? It is the best option.

I certainly hope we can do far better than Casey. 

[whatwhat say what 22,948]

1 hour ago, Rocky said:

who? ex dee great cam pedersen? i am unaware of any current player that lives on the peninsula and travels into the city for training/games?

Players - Gawn, Jones, Harmes, and Lever (I think)

Coaches - Goodwin and Chaplin (I think)

[Demon Dynasty 17,109]

5 hours ago, old dee said:

You have my vote RN. Spot on, I am quietly confident I will be.

At this point just a lousy premiership will do me Mr Old.

As for the club base / development thingy...i will believe when i see it.  And by that i mean a genuine state of the art facility that encompasses training, admin and some sort of bar/social area/cafe thingy for the fans/members.

My gut feel Mr Old is that it will be a massive compromise if it's anywhere near the G or the paddock is involved in there somewhere.

[BW511 2,688]

10 minutes ago, Rusty Nails said:

At this point just a lousy premiership will do me Mr Old.

As for the club base / development thingy...i will believe when i see it.  And by that i mean a genuine state of the art facility that encompasses training, admin and some sort of bar/social area/cafe thingy for the fans/members.

My gut feel Mr Old is that it will be a massive compromise if it's anywhere near the G or the paddock is involved in there somewhere.

Do any of the other elite training facilities have social club/members area?

Are Richmond fans allowed into Punt Road to drink before and after games?

Do Collingwood fans enter into the Gosch's setup for the same?

[joeboy 3,166]

1 hour ago, whatwhat say what said:

Players - Gawn, Jones, Harmes, and Lever (I think)

Coaches - Goodwin and Chaplin (I think)

Pretty sure the coach lives in Malvern 

[old dee 23,872]

1 hour ago, Sir Why You Little said:

I certainly hope we can do far better than Casey. 

Why? Its surface and facilities are now first class what else matters?

 

Edited April 22, 2021 by old dee

[old dee 23,872]

1 hour ago, Dees2014 said:

Olympic pool precinct is our natural home and we should have jumped at the chance to move there when we were first offered it before Collingwood moved there. Having said that it was an understandable decision not to given our parlous financial state at the time, although l wonder whether all the sophisticated financing options were fully examined at the time. If the Woods move, it would be a perfect home for us, including at last a permanent social club.

I get no indications the pies intend to move. Where does this myth come from? I cannot see why the" social club" is in such demand. The clubs that have them get little attendance.

[Diamond_Jim 12,628]

3 minutes ago, old dee said:

I get no indications the pies intend to move. Where does this myth come from? I cannot see why the" social club" is in such demand. The clubs that have them get little attendance.

Collingwood have money to burn.

If Richmond go ahead with their redevelopment Collingwood will be the only mega club without the mega training complex which for everyone but Richmond means 2 ovals, indoor training centre, pool and gym plus admin centre.

The old Olympic pool is heritage listed which limits what can be done. Perhaps they can do something more with Olympic Park but you have to wonder if a training centre is a good use of valuable land in the sporting precinct.

Social clubs are now officially dead IMO. Once the decision was made to ditch pokies that was the end

[old dee 23,872]

32 minutes ago, Diamond_Jim said:

Collingwood have money to burn.

If Richmond go ahead with their redevelopment Collingwood will be the only mega club without the mega training complex which for everyone but Richmond means 2 ovals, indoor training centre, pool and gym plus admin centre.

The old Olympic pool is heritage listed which limits what can be done. Perhaps they can do something more with Olympic Park but you have to wonder if a training centre is a good use of valuable land in the sporting precinct.

Social clubs are now officially dead IMO. Once the decision was made to ditch pokies that was the end

Re  Richmond are they staying at punt road? If not is there any talk of where? Again I have heard nothing about any tiger plans. As for social clubs agree 100%

Edited April 22, 2021 by old dee