Training Ground?

[BDA 19,981]

Given the speed at which this process is moving I reckon this thread will outlive us all

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,381]

1 hour ago, Supreme_Demon said:

I understand and I am overjoyed that the Melbourne Demons are 2021 AFL Premiers.

However, this matter of a home base for our administration and training is still lingering.

Hopefully, we can have some more news at the upcoming Annual General Meeting in regards to the progress of our home base?

We cannot rest until this matter is finally rectified.

I keep wondering whether it's that important. If we were able to keep winning premierships, if not every year, but on a regular basis, under current arrangements, does anyone care? Of course, one premiership in 57 years does not mean there will be regular Grand Final wins in the future, but I just wonder if the whole issue is overblown.  

[george_on_the_outer 6,944]

15 minutes ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

I keep wondering whether it's that important. If we were able to keep winning premierships, if not every year, but on a regular basis, under current arrangements, does anyone care? Of course, one premiership in 57 years does not mean there will be regular Grand Final wins in the future, but I just wonder if the whole issue is overblown.  

This isn't just about a training field, and it is not the 1960's.  This is 2021 and all teams are professional and to get to the top you have to give yourself an edge or just equal footing to everyone else. 

It is why WCE have played in 25 finals series in their 34 years of existence! 

We currently lease closet sized offices in the MCG not in the one location.  We share facilities with Storm, Victory and Rebels at AAMI.  We have to book the gym or the pool around them.  Our current training ground is small and 500m away from the Football department, and 1 km away from the admin department. It is all second rate.

We are fortunate we have a group of talented people who got us to a Premiership this year. We cannot depend on that alone.

With Hawthorn and Adelaide building $120M facilities, and Brisbane, Port, Fremantle, WCE, Bulldogs, Richmond and GC all receiving state government handouts to IMPROVE their facilities, we will fall even further and further behind.

[tiers 2,761]

After 30 odd years of being training nomads (we used to train at the MCG until the mid 80s) it seems to me that the only solution is to return to the MCG as our home.

Surely there must be enough space in the ground for our admin and fitness facilities to be housed together and we should be allowed to train on the ground as our home. How much can one teams training affect the surface?

Work out an arrangement with the cricket - let's face it, after Boxing Day test the cricket is second rate one dayers or 20/20 anyhow and some damage to the square can be tolerated. Maybe from February on.

[old dee 22,816]

17 hours ago, BDA said:

Given the speed at which this process is moving I reckon this thread will outlive us all

In my case you could be 100% correct BDA.

[Dee Dee 1,040]

10 hours ago, tiers said:

After 30 odd years of being training nomads (we used to train at the MCG until the mid 80s) it seems to me that the only solution is to return to the MCG as our home.

Surely there must be enough space in the ground for our admin and fitness facilities to be housed together and we should be allowed to train on the ground as our home. How much can one teams training affect the surface?

Work out an arrangement with the cricket - let's face it, after Boxing Day test the cricket is second rate one dayers or 20/20 anyhow and some damage to the square can be tolerated. Maybe from February on.

I wish what you hope for was realistic but I’m afraid it would be very difficult to achieve. Firstly the cricket pitches (between eight and ten) and surrounds take up a very large part of the central area of the ground: they are sacrosanct as far as the Cricket Club and Cricket Australian are concerned and when not being maintained on a daily basis are roped off, thus restricting access to a large section of the ground. I can assure you that other than ground staff and authorised personal, no one is allowed near them.

Go to the MCG on any non match day summer, autumn, winter or spring and you will see workers on the ground for hours at a time. In summer the grass is mown daily to keep it at 12mm in height and in winter it is mown less regularly keeping the grass to 24mm high. There is just too much activity on the ground to accommodate regular football training.

Also, and to further complicate matters, in winter large bank of lights are arranged over sections of the ground to stimulate grass growth. It would be impossible for footballers to train under such circumstances.

Football teams are allowed access to the ground under special circumstances (e.g. prior to finals, for instance West Coast 2018) but this access is on a get on, get off after say 60 minutes basis.

I could go further but I hope that gives you some idea of the obstacles faced!

Unfortunately this is how it stands: I wish it were otherwise but it is not!

Edited November 12, 2021 by Dee Dee

[tiers 2,761]

5 hours ago, Dee Dee said:

I wish what you hope for was realistic but I’m afraid it would be very difficult to achieve. Firstly the cricket pitches (between eight and ten) and surrounds take up a very large part of the central area of the ground: they are sacrosanct as far as the Cricket Club and Cricket Australian are concerned and when not being maintained on a daily basis are roped off, thus restricting access to a large section of the ground. I can assure you that other than ground staff and authorised personal, no one is allowed near them.

Go to the MCG on any non match day summer, autumn, winter or spring and you will see workers on the ground for hours at a time. In summer the grass is mown daily to keep it at 12mm in height and in winter it is mown less regularly keeping the grass to 24mm high. There is just too much activity on the ground to accommodate regular football training.

Also, and to further complicate matters, in winter large bank of lights are arranged over sections of the ground to stimulate grass growth. It would be impossible for footballers to train under such circumstances.

Football teams are allowed access to the ground under special circumstances (e.g. prior to finals, for instance West Coast 2018) but this access is on a get on, get off after say 60 minutes basis.

I could go further but I hope that gives you some idea of the obstacles faced!

Unfortunately this is how it stands: I wish it were otherwise but it is not!

Checked the cricket schedule for January/February 2022. In January there are 4 BBL thrashathons, in February one 4 day Shield match, one 50 over and one 20/20 match.

Surely they don't need 8-10 wickets for no more than 7 matches over 10 days including 6 one dayers especially when the gaps between matches allows for the used pitches to be revived. It is for a one dayer after all and it doesn't need to be first class perfect. And surely its doesn't take all day to mow the lawns and prepare pitches. As for the lights, why can't they shine all night and not waste the day? That's why they are called artificial lights.

There must a window of 3-4 hours in any given day for the dees to train.

Admittedly without a centre square it might be hard to train for the Jackson/Viney/Petracca/Oliver demolition job that finished off the doggies but the last cricket match is on 20 February so we will still have time.

Just requires some effort on the part of the administrators.

[rpfc 27,393]

On 11/12/2021 at 3:27 PM, george_on_the_outer said:

 

we will fall even further and further behind.

Who wants to tell him??

[george_on_the_outer 6,944]

2 hours ago, tiers said:

Checked the cricket schedule for January/February 2022. In January there are 4 BBL thrashathons, in February one 4 day Shield match, one 50 over and one 20/20 match.

Surely they don't need 8-10 wickets for no more than 7 matches over 10 days including 6 one dayers especially when the gaps between matches allows for the used pitches to be revived. It is for a one dayer after all and it doesn't need to be first class perfect. And surely its doesn't take all day to mow the lawns and prepare pitches. As for the lights, why can't they shine all night and not waste the day? That's why they are called artificial lights.

There must a window of 3-4 hours in any given day for the dees to train.

Admittedly without a centre square it might be hard to train for the Jackson/Viney/Petracca/Oliver demolition job that finished off the doggies but the last cricket match is on 20 February so we will still have time.

Just requires some effort on the part of the administrators.

This isn’t 1960!

Training starts in November not the Thursday before the first game in April.

There are no gyms, medical facilities, plunge pools, lecture theatres at the MCG.

Go have a look for yourself where the admin and football departments are and the piece-meal facilities they have to work in. 

Go and have a look for yourself at the infrastructure involved in the grass lighting.  It is not a few globes, and covers the whole ground and has to be left there for days in winter to make the grass grow, so that games can be held on the weekends.  They are on during the day and night since it is winter and there is little sunshine.  That is why they are needed. 

Training is not just a couple of hours kicking the football around on the grass.  

 

[Dee Dee 1,040]

1 hour ago, tiers said:

Checked the cricket schedule for January/February 2022. In January there are 4 BBL thrashathons, in February one 4 day Shield match, one 50 over and one 20/20 match.

Surely they don't need 8-10 wickets for no more than 7 matches over 10 days including 6 one dayers especially when the gaps between matches allows for the used pitches to be revived. It is for a one dayer after all and it doesn't need to be first class perfect. And surely its doesn't take all day to mow the lawns and prepare pitches. As for the lights, why can't they shine all night and not waste the day? That's why they are called artificial lights.

There must a window of 3-4 hours in any given day for the dees to train.

Admittedly without a centre square it might be hard to train for the Jackson/Viney/Petracca/Oliver demolition job that finished off the doggies but the last cricket match is on 20 February so we will still have time.

Just requires some effort on the part of the administrators.

i appreciate your frustration but the MCC and Cricket Australia take the condition of the playing surface very, very seriously. The ground is reserved for cricket well into the new year and all the artificial cricket pitches are kept ready for use until the end of the cricket season. 

. If I may be so bold, may I suggest you take a tour of the MCG one day and see the amount of activity going on at almost any time of the day. Not only on the ground but in and around the stands and in the basement areas near changing rooms and the like. Not ideal conditions for football training and certainly not ideal for any closed shop training!

You may be surprised at the amount of time taken not just mowing the grass but also laying fertiliser, replacing damaged turf (it comes in rolls) and painting and repainting markers and signage on the oval. There are something in the order of 8 to 10 specialists employed to look after the turf. It’s a very big business.

Regarding the artificial lights.
The artificial lights are used during the day and into the evening in winter on the northern section of the ground where the sun does not shine, they stimulate grass growth. And being modular they are spread all over the place: quite an obstacle course!

Again I appreciate your frustration and the frustration of others but the days when one could pop into the MCG (as I did) years ago and watch training are long gone.

[tiers 2,761]

25 minutes ago, george_on_the_outer said:

This isn’t 1960!

Training starts in November not the Thursday before the first game in April.

There are no gyms, medical facilities, plunge pools, lecture theatres at the MCG.

Go have a look for yourself where the admin and football departments are and the piece-meal facilities they have to work in. 

Go and have a look for yourself at the infrastructure involved in the grass lighting.  It is not a few globes, and covers the whole ground and has to be left there for days in winter to make the grass grow, so that games can be held on the weekends.  They are on during the day and night since it is winter and there is little sunshine.  That is why they are needed. 

Training is not just a couple of hours kicking the football around on the grass.  

 

Believe it or not I do realise that it is 2021 and we are PREMIERS. Over the years I have been to training and understand the issues. I have seen the piecemeal facilities that we have. If the training facilities are not there then the MCG is a vast space that must be able to accommodate them. As for the grass, is this the only practical way to light up the grass? And how often during training do they need access to the whole ground?

We have been having this discussion for years since the rotten days at the Junction Oval (even there we had to overcome the slope). Enough! Over the years so many alternatives have been raised but they have all had their problems and stiill we are training on Goschs and Casey remote from our home.

What I feel is not frustration but an absence of determination to find a home. The only decent playing surface that is available near our home is our home but we cannot use it. For all the issues that you and DD have raised, it must still be worth an effort to see if they can be overcome. I have offered some ideas - if they are not possible then tell me what is possible. And let's fight.

We are now the top of the tree so let's start acting as such.

[old dee 22,816]

On 11/12/2021 at 3:27 PM, george_on_the_outer said:

This isn't just about a training field, and it is not the 1960's.  This is 2021 and all teams are professional and to get to the top you have to give yourself an edge or just equal footing to everyone else. 

It is why WCE have played in 25 finals series in their 34 years of existence! 

We currently lease closet sized offices in the MCG not in the one location.  We share facilities with Storm, Victory and Rebels at AAMI.  We have to book the gym or the pool around them.  Our current training ground is small and 500m away from the Football department, and 1 km away from the admin department. It is all second rate.

We are fortunate we have a group of talented people who got us to a Premiership this year. We cannot depend on that alone.

With Hawthorn and Adelaide building $120M facilities, and Brisbane, Port, Fremantle, WCE, Bulldogs, Richmond and GC all receiving state government handouts to IMPROVE their facilities, we will fall even further and further behind.

And yet we won the flag!!!

[tiers 2,761]

34 minutes ago, old dee said:

And yet we won the flag!!!

From 1987 to 1991 we made the finals while training at the Junction Oval. Good drafting and good coaching can make a team perform well but I want more.

I want us to be a powerhouse again and that will require quality training facilities. with access to a social club. Think of what the MCG as a home will do for us.

On the other hand, the filth have their fabulous facilities and they are still no good. Bad drafting, team management and poor coaching will do that to you. The dorks are too far out of town, the lolly blues want for nothing apart from talent, leadership and coaching and the propellors built a training facility and now want to come back. Only at the MCG can we become a powerhouse.

 

[Grr-owl 1,075]

On 11/10/2021 at 3:56 AM, Sir Why You Little said:

This would kill the whole area. No sunlight, cold wind tunnels, and it looks hideous. It effectively Blocks the MCG out of view. 
I certainly hope this gets thrown in the bin very Quickly 

And I bet they'll be almost all 1 and 2 beds. Try finding an apartment for a family with 3-beds and places for the kids to hide.....

Edited November 14, 2021 by Grr-owl

[Diamond_Jim 11,681]

Essendon just released their latest financials.

Apparently they received $7M in grants and donations to "extend and improve the hangar."

 

Essendon have posted a strong financial result for 2021, recording a statutory profit of $8.2 million and becoming bank-debt free again.

The Bombers’ profit for this year is made up of $1.2 million generated from operations, and $7 million derived from grants and donations which were used to expand their Hangar facility in Tullamarine.

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/bombers-post-strong-financial-result-for-covid-hit-2021-season-20211124-p59bp4.html

[Cards13 9,117]

17 minutes ago, Diamond_Jim said:

Essendon just released their latest financials.

Apparently they received $7M in grants and donations to "extend and improve the hangar."

 

Essendon have posted a strong financial result for 2021, recording a statutory profit of $8.2 million and becoming bank-debt free again.

The Bombers’ profit for this year is made up of $1.2 million generated from operations, and $7 million derived from grants and donations which were used to expand their Hangar facility in Tullamarine.

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/bombers-post-strong-financial-result-for-covid-hit-2021-season-20211124-p59bp4.html

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/jeff-browne-s-post-poll-plan-for-keeping-at-risk-15m-20211123-p59bht.html

[DeeSpencer 23,061]

Richmond released the details of Punt Road redevelopment.

30M government funding
MCG Sized oval.
Womens facilities.
Crowd of 8k
Value adds - both financial and cultural - with the KGI centre and Houli Foundation.

We are a million to one to be allowed crowds unfortunately, at it seems we've settled for a Docklands sized oval. But we have to be fighting for the value adds similar to Richmond. I guess we've got to come up with them first! And we need that sweet sweet government cash.

 

[daisycutter 28,460]

2 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

Richmond released the details of Punt Road redevelopment.

30M government funding
MCG Sized oval.
Womens facilities.
Crowd of 8k
Value adds - both financial and cultural - with the KGI centre and Houli Foundation.

We are a million to one to be allowed crowds unfortunately, at it seems we've settled for a Docklands sized oval. But we have to be fighting for the value adds similar to Richmond. I guess we've got to come up with them first! And we need that sweet sweet government cash.

 

i think it's mcg size length and docklands size width

[DeeSpencer 23,061]

7 minutes ago, daisycutter said:

i think it's mcg size length and docklands size width

MCG is 160 and Docklands is 159.5! 

[daisycutter 28,460]

6 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

MCG is 160 and Docklands is 159.5! 

that 500mm could be very important

[Lucifers Hero 36,985]

1 hour ago, Cards13 said:

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/jeff-browne-s-post-poll-plan-for-keeping-at-risk-15m-20211123-p59bht.html

Even with the addition of Sally Freeman to our board (giving us two female members) we still don't meet the 40% quota requirement to ensure funding.  With an 8 person board we need at least 3.  

[george_on_the_outer 6,944]

Our Board had best have something to give us this year as promised.......

Richmond another $30M

Adelaide $70M

Essendon $7M

Western Bulldogs $36M

Hawthorn started on a $120M new facility...looking for government grants ( not while Jeffrey is running the show)

Collingwood $15M from Federal government to date and looking for equivalent from State for a health and wellbeing centre at the Holden centre.

We still haven't got a basic facility.

[Longsufferingnomore 1,459]

1 hour ago, george_on_the_outer said:

Our Board had best have something to give us this year as promised.......

Richmond another $30M

Adelaide $70M

Essendon $7M

Western Bulldogs $36M

Hawthorn started on a $120M new facility...looking for government grants ( not while Jeffrey is running the show)

Collingwood $15M from Federal government to date and looking for equivalent from State for a health and wellbeing centre at the Holden centre.

We still haven't got a basic facility.

Our Chairwoman will be on right on top of this. She will know what is required to induce funds from the appropriate govt bodies.🤞

[Supreme_Demon 3,009]

1 hour ago, george_on_the_outer said:

Our Board had best have something to give us this year as promised.......

Richmond another $30M

Adelaide $70M

Essendon $7M

Western Bulldogs $36M

Hawthorn started on a $120M new facility...looking for government grants ( not while Jeffrey is running the show)

Collingwood $15M from Federal government to date and looking for equivalent from State for a health and wellbeing centre at the Holden centre.

We still haven't got a basic facility.

Far out! It's sobering stuff! We are so far behind every other AFL club due to not having a proper home ground (besides the MCG). It's an utter embarrassment.

Besides winning more AFL Premierships as well as AFLW Premierships, the number one priority of the Melbourne Football Club needs to be getting a Home Base sorted.

No more excuses.

This must be paramount for the Melbourne Football Club Board to rectify and we as Melbourne members and supporters must demand that this matter is resolved!

Edited November 24, 2021 by Supreme_Demon

[Deemania since 56 6,127]

On 4/27/2021 at 1:22 PM, cookieboc said:

build facilities with a hotel and apartments above, with big function rooms with sprawling views of the city to rent for weddings etc. sell the apartments to fund part of the build and have revenue from the hotel, retail shops at ground level etc

Hotel at the Adelaide Oval, booked for three nights, stayed one night under protest. Rubbish rooms, rubbish food, rubbish elevators, rubbish receptionist training/development. Great location. Grossly expensive. 200 ml orange juice, propriety brand from the supermarkets - $9.50 - for example. Supermarket price: $1.20 .Here endeth the complaint as it was repetitive - right across the board. Function rooms, empty. Bars and dining rooms, empty. Hotel itself, almost empty. Never again...