Looks like it has finally happened...Casey and Melbourne signing a 10 year agreement according to the Casey website..
Now that was a drawn out saga
Local council elections have just happened. Huge divide in the City of Casey over allocating funds to Melbourne and ignoring the local community. Many candidates in the running are against the deal and are expected to poll well. Local polling before the election showed 75% of ratepayers are against the deal.
It depends what the question is though doesn't it.
Do you support $1.5 million being spent on facilties for Melbourne Football Club instead of on local facilities?
OR
Do you support spending $1.5 million to develop facilities to host Melbourne Football Club if in return the club provides $20 million of community programs over the next 30 years?
I suspect you'd get different responses.
Is it fair to say the days of certain Casey Council employees driving the deal may be numbered if there is a significant change in council after Saturday?
I reckon that would probably be right.
But I also don't thing that the Melbourne Football Club has been a front of mind issue for too many residents (despite some of the Councillors trying to make it that way). As a resident I think there is more concern about Councillors' infighting and about methane gas.
It will certainly be interesting to watch what unfolds in the elction. Like most people interested in sport in the community, I hope that the deal continues.
It depends what the question is though doesn't it.
Do you support $1.5 million being spent on facilties for Melbourne Football Club instead of on local facilities?
OR
Do you support spending $1.5 million to develop facilities to host Melbourne Football Club if in return the club provides $20 million of community programs over the next 30 years?
I suspect you'd get different responses.[/quote]What spin Casey Scorp. 20 Million Into the Community? What a load of tripe. The Community won't see *hit. All approaches by all local clubs in the City of Casey for extra funds or improvements to grounds have been blocked. The word of mouth is sorry the funds are being pushed to Casey Fields to attract the Melbourne FC. This is a football club that is broke and asking for 2 million dollars from the AFL. The same football club that barely has 25000 members. If Melbourne wants to use Casey then they and the AFL can dip into the mega millions. The Casey Community will get no benefit from Melbourne other than token gestures. The same gestures they got from the St Kilda football club and the so called Casey Scorpions.
The Casey Community is set to vote the Councillors out in doing so is voicing their disproval of the most ridiculous waste of rate payers money.
Once the class action re: the methane gas 'problem' starts to have an effect, the council will have SFA money to pay for anything else. I suppose they'll have a 'nice' housing estate as an asset, but who would want to buy?[/quote]That's another stuff up by the most inept council on record.
Well you are certainly mixing a few issues there. And you say that I’m into spin. If mine is spin, your’s is bull*hit.
The community program, if the deal ever ends up happening, will be fantastic for the local community. It’s all outlined in the Council meeting report on 5 August, including the value of the various components. Very transparent! Your comment that the community won’t see *hit is just so far wide of the mark that it is ridiculous.
All approaches by local clubs for extra funds or improvements to grounds have been blocked – what do you base that on? No doubt on some 5th hand scuttlebutt circulated by some disaffected person or group. The fact is that the Council budget provides millions for sportsgrounds.
If you look on the Council website at the budget media release, it refers to these projects at sportsgrounds:
• $350,000 for the construction of a second oval at Berwick Springs Sports Ground
• $1.37 million for the Narre Warren South tennis facility (includes 6 tennis courts, pavilion, carpark and roadworks
• $507,500 for sustainable water initiatives for sporting fields/playing areas
• $120,000 to improve synthetic bowling green facilities at Hampton Park Bowls Club
• $200,000 for construction of a second soccer field at Reema Reserve
• $620,000 for construction of football carpark and further landscaping works at Sweeney Reserve
• $50,000 to undertake design work for the proposed rebuilding / refurbishment of Chalcot Lodge soccer pavilion
• $209,500 for building refurbishment and lighting works at Narre Warren Bowls Club
• $150,000 for upgrading of the Cranbourne Recreation Reserve soccer pavilion.
There’s over $3.5 million, and that doesn’t include all of the minor things done to improve facilities at sportsgrounds.
So the crap that all approaches are blocked is demonstrably incorrect.
The funds in the Council’s budget for MFC is about $1.5 million, taking the total major Council-funded capital works project expenditure on sportsgrounds to around $5 million. On a one-off basis, MFC accounts for around 30% of a single year’s sportsground capex.
The proposal is for MFC to contribute $500,000 to the project. So your suggestion that others contribute towards the cost is also met (I would imagine that MFC is getting some of its contribution from the AFL millions you refer to).
Your assertion that the Casey community won’t get any benefit from Melbourne can be tested in the future. So long as the deal eventuates (and it still may not happen), I believe that the community will get substantial benefit. Many others believe so also. Local sports clubs reckon it will be fantastic.
And more misleading crap comes in a comparison to St KFC. Why would the Saints have contributed to Casey community – they never went there.
And the Scorpions contribution to the community will no doubt increase over time as they get back onto their feet after having gone close to going out of existence a few years ago. Besides which, where do you think the Cranbourne FC would be playing its matches if the Scorpions never came – certainly not at a VFL complex like Casey Fields. And BTW, Cranbourne FC issued a media release welcoming the prospect of MFC moving to Casey.
So a few facts, instead of drivel, would assist the debate.
Interesting that if you compare the Council investment in the Casey-South Melbourne cricket facility, which cost well over $2 million, hardly anyone utilises the facility except for a small elite group of people with very few connections to the local community. Hardly anyone watches cricket matches, but strangely the couple of Councillors who are most opposed to MFC strongly supported ratepayers money being spent on C-SM. Hypocrites do you think?
It depends what the question is though doesn't it.
Do you support $1.5 million being spent on facilties for Melbourne Football Club instead of on local facilities?
OR
Do you support spending $1.5 million to develop facilities to host Melbourne Football Club if in return the club provides $20 million of community programs over the next 30 years?
I suspect you'd get different responses.[/quote]
Does anyone with half a brain think a near death, , fast fading AFL Club like Melbourne floundering around to find any sort of direction for the future will be around for 3 years let aLONE 30 = tOTAL CRAP :lol:
Even assuming that MFC only lasts a couple of years (which I don't, but let's say that just for the purpose of the discussion), then @ around $600,000/year of community benefit then the community has just about recouped its investment. Add to that $500k of MFC cash contribution to the project (as I said earlier, if the deal ever happens) and the community is in front.
And that's assuming they go belly-up in just a couple of years.
And then, the community ends up with an asset being a $2 million pavilion extension.
Caseyscorp, the majority of the community is against MORE money being pumped into Casey Fields for the MFC. You are all for it as you benifit. No one else does. So cut your spin. If it keeps going the community will be against the free loading Casey Scorpions as well.