What I would like to talk to you all about this afternoon is not a week-to- week issue - it is an important one regarding our long-term future.
This week you would no doubt of heard about the club’s intention to create a state-of-the-art, elite new head quarters that aims to not only to be our long-term home, but a home that gives our club and its community the very best of sustained long-term performance.
Five years ago we were at the forefront of facilities - the reality is, with the funding provided to other AFL clubs we have fallen behind. As club leaders, myself and CEO Ian Robson have a responsibility to address this challenge quickly because if we don’t, it will hurt our football club.
So we have developed a bold and ambitious vision to create a significant, new $28 million sporting and community hub in the north west of Melbourne for the benefit of the club and the wider community.
There are three major reasons why we must realize this vision.
Firstly, we need a new, state-of-the-art training facility to give our players and coaches the best possible chance of on-field success.
Secondly, we need a new, state-of-the-art training facility that allows us to significantly expand our important community programs and help more people. It is not just about football - we know that the club is the economic engine room for many successful community programs and support of local community groups.
Thirdly, we need a new, state-of-the-art training facility so that when free agency begins in 2012 we are in the best position to attract new players and keep our current ones.
This issue is crucial to our future and doing nothing is simply not an option.
The reality is, this football club has outgrown the space we occupy at Windy Hill. For example we need to configure the ground to the size of the MCG to allow our players to practice as they play.
There is not enough space to fit cricket, football and bowls at Windy Hill to sustain the football club's performance in this modern, intensely competitive code.
If Essendon is to stay at Windy Hill - which is our priority - we won’t all fit.
We want to stay - it is our roots and so much of our history resides there. But we cannot let sentiment get in the way of sensible long-term decisions that will benefit future generations. So that when our kids and grandkids either play or support Essendon, they are given the very best chance of success.
A band-aid solution - compromising with bowls for instance - would be in my view not doing the right thing for my successor and future Essendon leaders.
So the harsh reality is that if bowls and cricket don’t relocate, this great football club will need to leave Windy Hill and build a new home-base elsewhere. There is simply not enough room for us all to remain at Windy Hill.
Yes, we would much prefer to stay at our traditional home and, as a chairman who has practically grown-up at Windy Hill, I hope a move doesn’t happen and I will exhaust all avenues.
It is not lost on me or the football club that cricket and bowls have their own history and have been at Windy Hill for over 100 years - well before the football club arrived. This is why we have been very proactive in seeking a solution that improves their position but at a new location because the current situation is simply not sustainable.
There is not enough room for them to expand either - which they want to do - so no-one wins in the current situation and we need to find away to unlock the space capability at Windy Hill.
We are working with bowls and cricket about a relocation and are quite a way down the track with the cricket, which is crucial because we cannot continue to have the situation where players train at La Trobe University all summer because there is a wicket on the Windy Hill oval.
The cricket club, through its President Simon Tobin, have been prepared to work with us to find an acceptable outcome for both parties.
The same unfortunately cannot be said about the bowls club who have chosen to dig their heels in and are refusing to relocate.
I would like to now speak now about the Moonee Valley Council. If it was me as a councillor overseeing this issue, it would not sit well with me.
Essendon Football Club in many ways is the glue that combines the community and frankly the council has not done enough.
They need to be rolling their sleeves up and helping to resolve the situation. If I were a councillor right now I wouldn’t want it to be on my watch that saw the EFC depart Windy Hill.
What we need is for the Moonee Valley Council - who owns the land at Windy Hill - and the cricket and bowls clubs, to remember that the Essendon Football Club is an important social and economic driver for the local community.
We contribute around $46.7 million to the Moonee Valley local economy each year. We support 103 local businesses and we have provided more than$1.1 millionin the last five years in cash grants to 11 affiliate sporting groups - including cricket and bowls - so that they can continue to operate successfully.
In fact, we pay for the up-keep of the bowls and cricket clubs - which is a costly exercise - and we are prepared to continue providing this support if they are prepared to relocate. Let me be clear, we want a great outcome for bowls and cricket and we are committed to financially supporting their relocation, so that not only is their future secure, but they are put in a better position to what they are now.
We already know there is plenty of interest by other councils and regions in attracting an AFL club like Essendon because of the significant benefits it delivers and we haven’t even put out an expression of interest yet.
If we are forced to move, it would be a blow to the local Moonee Valley community but, as a club, we need to plan for the next 25-years and beyond and give our football team the best chance to be able to compete in the AFL.
We are very aware that we have a responsibility to the local community but we also have a responsibility to be competitive. If we are forced to leave Windy Hill then that will be a very sad day but it will open a new chapter in the club's history.
