CEO Gary Pert has penned the following letter to members of the Melbourne Football Club

Dear Members,

As you’re aware, in December 2023 we announced the commencement of a feasibility study to identify a location for the club’s long term homebase within the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve. This study formed part of a broader project focused on community sport and recreation resources, assets and services within the Reserve.

In exciting news, I am thrilled to share with our members, that after extensive work and thorough analysis, the feasibility study for our proposed new training and administration facility at Caulfield Racecourse Reserve has been successfully completed and approved to progress to the next stage of the process. This means, we now move into the Business Case Phase of the project.

This phase of the process has focused heavily on stakeholder engagement and garnering local support for the project. The positive sentiment from so many local community organisations and groups has been wide-spread and the feasibility study has definitely highlighted the community’s desire to see this project come to life. 

While the success of the feasibility study does not ensure the future of the project, it is a crucial milestone in the process and marks a significant step forward in our journey towards realising our vision of a high-performance facility that makes us all feel proud to belong.

As mentioned above, we will now embark on the business case phase of the project. This phase will see us continue to work closely with all stakeholders to achieve further clarity on key components of the project, resolve any outstanding issues bought to light during the Feasibility Study and to ultimately seek State Government and Caulfield Racecourse Reserve Trust approval to proceed with building our new home.

Within the business case phase, we will need to present the proposed funding model for the project, details of key users of the facility and the specifics of their access, an ongoing operating model for the facility, as well as further exploration of potential designs and layouts to ensure any facility would meet both the needs of the club and the community.

We expect to receive an outcome on the success or otherwise of the business case around mid-2025.

While there is still a way to go, Melbourne members should feel confident in the work being done by all involved to ensure we achieve our vision of uniting our club at a new home-base within our heartland.

As mentioned above, one of the most pleasing aspects of the successful feasibility study was the overwhelming support we received from the Glen Eira community including local sporting clubs and schools, and various other community organisations. 

This support brings us closer to our goal of creating a state-of-the-art facility with genuine community integration and connection at its core.The proposed facility has the potential to transform the lives of those who live and work in the area, providing much-needed green spaces and community resources.

With Glen Eira having the lowest amount of open space within any Victorian municipality, the inclusion of two incredible ovals in the broader masterplan will transform the area and offer amazing new facilities for the community.

As we have previously noted, Glen Eira is a traditional Heartland of the Melbourne Football Club, with many of our Club members and supporters living in the area and many club greats hailing from the area. Hence, the opportunity to create a facility that benefits both our club and the Glen Eira community is an incredibly exciting prospect.    

As always, we remain committed to keeping our members and supporters informed throughout this process.

For more information and frequently asked questions related to the project, please click here.

Thank you for your continued support as we work toward this exciting new chapter for our club.

Go Dees!

Gary Pert
CEO

CEO Gary Pert has penned the following letter to members of the Melbourne Football Club

Dear Members,

Following our first bye of the year, we head into the next block of the season with 4 wins under our belt and in a fantastic position to attack what lies ahead. I hope the way in which our players and staff have gone about these last few weeks has made you all proud to belong to the red and blue.

Having had the opportunity to take a short breath from a footy perspective, I’d like to take the opportunity to update you on the feasibility study the club is undertaking to investigate Caulfield Racecourse Reserve’s potential viability as a central training and administration base for the club.

We are currently in the stakeholder engagement phase of the study. This phase is focused on gathering a clear and thorough understanding of the local community and will include meeting with key stakeholders, including Glen Eira City Council, local sporting clubs and schools, and various other community organisations. This will ensure that any future Melbourne Football Club facility would align with the local community’s needs from a sport and recreation resources perspective.

As Kate Roffey outlined in her letter to members in December last year, our connection with the Glen Eira community is already strong. It is part of our traditional Heartland and so many of our members and supporters live in the area. It was also an historical and very successful recruiting zone for the Demons, with the likes of Robbie Flower, Greg Wells and Stan Alves all joining the Demons from the region.

Our goal is to not only provide a homebase for the Melbourne Football Club, but to also contribute positively to sport and recreation opportunities for the wider community. We are currently commencing our initial community stakeholder meetings and will look to update you all on our progress when we can.

The above image from the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve Strategic Management Plan outlines the key areas of the Reserve which form part of the feasibility study. While we are far from a design phase, we wanted to share the image with you to hopefully help you visualise the proposed location of any potential training and administration facility. The map outlines the potential location for the club’s training and administrative headquarters on a disused horse training site, as well as the proposed location of multiple sporting fields, which includes two training ovals. While these ovals would be utilised by both our AFL and AFLW football programs, the wider community will also have access to the ovals. It is important to note that the club would utilise the site for training and administrative purposes only, with no matches to be held at the Reserve which will keep built form to a minimum inside the track.

As previously communicated the club is leading the feasibility study with support from specialist consultants and in consultation with the Victorian Government and other relevant stakeholders including Caulfield Racecourse Reserve Trust and the Melbourne Racing Club. We are incredibly excited to be taking a step towards realising the club’s dream of a permanent homebase for the club and are excited by the prospect of doing so in Melbourne Football Club heartland, at a location with close ties to the local community.

I look forward to seeing you at the football. Let’s make sure we pack out the MCG for our next home game in Round 8 against the Cats.

Go Dees.

Gary Pert
CEO

The club’s vision is to create a heartland home base which would allow the club to house all aspects of its business and football department under one roof for the first time in the club’s professional era. Currently the club is split across three locations, AAMI Park and Casey Fields from a football perspective, and administration staff are based at the MCG. This limits the club’s ability to have a club that members and supporters can visit and engage with.

A new home base in Caulfield would allow the club to develop high- performance training facilities and club infrastructure to provide profile, presence, and stability for the next 50 years. We would unite administration and the football departments into the one facility for the first time in recent history. This facility would be the daily connection point, the central place for players, staff, coaches and supporters to be united under one roof.

Importantly, a new facility would also provide an opportunity for Melbourne Football Club to create amenities and facilities which would contribute positively to sport, recreation and wellbeing opportunities for the wider community.

The study focused on the community benefits of Melbourne Football Club building their high-performance homebase within the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve, while at the same time enhancing the experience of individuals and sporting Clubs within the Glen Eira area.

The study required the following outcomes to be achieved:

1. Stakeholder Consultation: Consult with a wide-variety of stakeholders of the Caufield Racecourse Reserve.
2. Concept Design: Develop a high-level concept design to demonstrate how the Melbourne Football Club training and administration home base could be delivered in alignment with the long-term vision for the Reserve (CRRT Strategic Management Plan).

The results of the Feasibility Study were successful and the project has now progressed to Business Case Phase. The business case will seek to explore and outline a proposed funding model of the design and construction of the facilities in the Reserve. Some of the high-level outcomes of the Feasibility Study included;

• The proposed football ovals can be integrated and delivered in conjunction with the broader sports fields precinct. This includes multipurpose rectangular fields, a criterium cycling track and a dedicated running and walking track.
• There is strong support and interest from local sports bodies, clubs and associations to utilise and share facilities within the centre of the Reserve.
• The study confirmed that both the outdoor and indoor facilities can be integrated to deliver premium facilities for both Melbourne and the community.
• The study confirmed that the sports fields precinct can be delivered without reducing the size of the Southern Dam.

No, it does not. While the success of the feasibility study does not ensure the future of the project, it is a crucial milestone in the process and marks a significant step forward in the club’s journey towards realising its vision of a high-performance facility that makes us all feel proud to belong.

This phase will see Melbourne Football Club work closely with all stakeholders to achieve further clarity on key components of the project and to ultimately garner State Government and Caulfield Racecourse Reserve Trust approval to proceed with building its new home.

The Business Case will look at a range of factors in determining the viability of the project, including establishing a construction program, construction complexities and developing a funding model,

Additionally, the Business Case will need to address details of key users of the facility and the specifics of their access, an ongoing operating model for the facility, as well as further exploration of potential designs and layouts to ensure any facility would meet both the needs of the club and the community.

Located 10km south-east of Melbourne CBD, the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve features approximately 54 hectares of open space and facilities. This area currently includes two horse racing tracks, two wetlands and the large expanses inside the racecourse which makes up an area 20 times larger than the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

There are no plans for the Melbourne Football Club to play AFL, AFLW or second tier matches within the Caulfield Racecourse precinct.

The site is on Crown Land managed by the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve Trust. Melbourne Football Club would not own any part of the land and would not have any exclusive use over any sport field located on the racecourse infield.

The club’s goal is to not only provide for the Melbourne Football Club, but to also contribute positively to sport, recreation and wellbeing opportunities for the wider community, particularly within the Glen Eira area.

Melbourne has explored a number of options within walking distance of the MCG. The club’s requirements for a high-performance facility are difficult to be met within this location.

The MCG will forever be Melbourne’s spiritual home and the home ground for the club’s AFL games. The MCG will always remain part of any long-term vision of Melbourne Football Club.

Melbourne will continue to develop Casey Fields, including the MCG-sized ground and the Thurin High Performance Centre. Casey Fields will be an elite training facility for all our teams, and the location for our AFLW, VFLW and VFL home games.

After mapping several options for a potential facility site around Melbourne, the proposed site in Caulfield was the most suitable site, within close proximity to the CBD and in Melbourne heartland.

CRRT has developed a Strategic Management Plan for the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve, which includes the construction of two football ovals to enhance community use of the precinct. Given the club’s positive experience in sharing Gosch’s Paddock and Casey Fields with the community, an opportunity was identified to bring CRRT’s vision for the precinct to life for the mutual benefit of the Glen Eira community and the club.

Melbourne’s connection to Glen Eira is already strong. It is part of the traditional Heartland of the Melbourne Football Club, with many Club members and supporters living in the area. It was also a historical and very successful recruiting zone for the Demons, delivering Club greats Robbie Flower, Greg Wells and Stan Alves.

The proposed site would allow for member interaction, community engagement, adequate space for housing a high-performance facility (including multiple ovals), drive times, etc.

The current limitations on AAMI Park mean we will be unable to expand, grow and develop at the current site and as such we need to explore alternate locations to future-proof the club.

The proposed Caulfield location cannot be confirmed as the site of the club’s future home until the outcomes of the current business case are complete.

This project is still in the business case phase. The finer details of our proposed plans for an elite training, administration and community facility will be developed over time in consultation with a range of stakeholders, including club members. Through the business case process we will need to present further information around the cost of a new facility and the subsequent funding model to support this.

The facility could be funded through a variety of avenues both internally and with external stakeholders.

Any new facility is anticipated to incorporate an elite training facility e.g. fully equipped high-performance gymnasium, large indoor training area, aquatic and player recovery spaces, meeting and office spaces for all departments (football and administration), training ovals, men’s and women’s changerooms.

Proposed plans have included dedicated community spaces where the club can integrate with the community, provide access to resources and also deliver community programs aligned with its values.

The next phase of project development  is anticipated to be completed by mid-2025.

Melbourne’s vision is to build a heartland home base that is not only an elite training facility for its men’s and women’s football programs but is a space that contributes positively to sport, recreation and wellbeing opportunities for the wider community.

Any plans would include dedicated community spaces where the club can integrate with the community, provide access to resources and also deliver community programs aligned with its values.

We will keep our members, supporters and the local community informed of the process and any decisions regarding the club’s facility plans.

Given detailed design phase has not yet commenced, specifics of the facility are yet to be determined. However, any new facility will have members at the forefront and ensure spaces provide an opportunity for members to connect with the club, each other and Melbourne’s history.

The proposed location for the club’s new facility is within the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve.

Given the location of the proposed facility is adjacent to the track and the ovals proposed are within the centre, we will be working closely with the Melbourne Racing Club to ensure that the interests of both Clubs are safeguarded. However, the project itself is and would remain independent of horse racing.