On behalf of everyone at Essendon Football Club, can I express our sincere disappointment following the cancellation of Saturday night’s NAB Cup game against St Kilda in Wangaratta.
We’ve indicated to the AFL our desire and willingness to work closely with AFL Victoria and the local community to find a way to make up for the cancellation to the people of Wangaratta.
We understand this has affected many people in the local area during what was meant to be a fantastic weekend of sport in Wangaratta. We appreciate this also has a significant impact on local business, council, sporting clubs and everybody involved in the planning and preparation of the game at the stadium.
Most importantly, we are extremely disappointed for the many young kids at the ground who were waiting to see their heroes and unfortunately missed the opportunity due to these unforeseen circumstances.
The simple truth is that matters were taken out of our hands because of the extreme nature of the weather and although we had a whole range of contingencies in place, we had been given the all clear to fly by the airline just prior to take off.
Our plan to fly into Wangaratta had been put in place several weeks ago and was fully endorsed by the AFL. It was purely a football decision based on our desire to return to Melbourne in order to maximise recovery time ahead of a short turnaround this week against Sydney on Friday night at Etihad Stadium.
We understand it is a huge logistical task to stage an AFL game at any venue, let alone in regional Victoria and that many people have been affected by the cancellation of the game. All patrons who bought a ticket for the game will be eligible for a full refund.
Patrons who purchased a ticket via credit card will have the amount automatically refunded to their personal account within five (5) days, while patrons with cash sales should return with their tickets to the point of purchase after 12pm Monday March 5, for a refund.
Finally, can I again reiterate, on behalf of the club how extremely disappointed we are that the game was unable to go ahead and offer our sincere apology to all the people affected in the greater area of Wangaratta.
Ian Robson
Chief Executive Officer
