I write to you after the disappointing news today that the Essendon Football Club was unsuccessful in our submission for State Government Funding for our Community Program infrastructure at our new High Performance Centre at Melbourne Airport.

 

Can I assure everyone connected with our great club that we will still deliver the High Performance Centre for the Essendon Football Club and the Australian Paralympic Committee. My aim, together with Chief Executive Ian Robson and the Club’s Board, is to have our new headquarters delivered on time, on budget and with a minimum amount of debt. However, as the State Government funding was in part earmarked for the community sports and learning academy, this component of the project will not be able to be completed at this time.

 

Our community programs are a critical part of who we are and what we do and we remain committed to investing in the community. The Essendon Football Club can and always has proven that football can play such an important role in supporting communities and inclusion of different cultures in the multicultural Australia we live in. It remains our ambition to deliver this facility with all its vision in the future.

 

In light of this news, we still have a significant fundraising challenge ahead of us. As a result, the Evans family will be making a further financial commitment to this critical project as we believe so strongly in the Essendon Football Club and what it continues to do for future generations of Australians.

 

Kind regards