THE Saints are marching out. St Kilda Football Club’s long rumoured return to Moorabbin Reserve looks set to become reality after Kingston Council agreed to welcome the AFL club back to its former home by contributing $5 million towards a Moorabbin Reserve redevelopment project.
Negotiations behind closed doors between the Saints, the AFL, Labor state government and Kingston Council have paved the way for St Kilda to head back to Moorabbin just three years after Frankston Council kicked in about $4 million of ratepayers’ money to a joint AFL, state government and council deal to entice the Saints to Seaford.
Frankston Council CEO Dennis Hovenden said council has “been in regular discussions with all the stakeholders involved in this negotiation and are working towards the best outcome for our community, to best utilise our state of the art sporting facilities.”
Premier Daniel Andrews has indicated the state government will work with Frankston Council to base another sporting club at the Linen House sporting complex (‘Saints set to quit Seaford’, The Times 27/4/15).
Council released a copy of a letter from Mr Hovenden to Mr Andrews late last week about St Kilda’s likely move back to Moorabbin.
In the letter, dated 21 April, Mr Hovenden in part stated: “I have been somewhat bewildered, as a key stakeholder, that council has been aware of discussion on this matter only through media reporting.”
The Times understands the state government has been in contact with Frankston Council since the letter was sent although the Premier has not provided an official written response yet.
Government spokesman Patrick Lane confirmed there have been “regular discussions with a number of stakeholders including the Frankston Council about arrangements for the future use of the Seaford facility”.
“The St Kilda Football Club’s lease with the Frankston Council is a matter for those two parties. The Government does not have a role in tenancy arrangements or contracts,” he said.
“As a partner in this project we are committed to achieving a good outcome for everybody.”
The Saints moved its administration and training base from Moorabbin to Seaford after an acrimonious departure in 2007 over a dispute with Kingston Council about the number of gaming machines at Moorabbin.
Although Kingston councillors voted to expand its planned community football hub at Moorabbin Reserve to include St Kilda’s return, many remembered how the previous Saints hierarchy acted before their exit from Moorabbin.
“It’s probably fair to say it’ll take a fair amount of time to build up that trust again after what happened last time,” Cr John Ronke said.
Cr Rosemary West was most vocal in opposition to the Saints’ return to Moorabbin.
“This is a football team that puts money first and happily sells itself to the highest bidder,” she said.
Several Kingston councillors expressed concerns about handing over so much of their community’s money to the AFL team but ultimately decided the expected long-term benefits to the expanded Moorabbin Reserve redevelopment project outweighed any financial risk.
St Kilda released a media statement after Kingston councillors voted to commit ratepayers’ money to the expanded $29 million redevelopment, up from $10.9 million before St Kilda’s involvement.
“Last night’s decision was an important step forward in restoring our club’s presence and involvement with the people of Moorabbin but it’s not the finishing line – there are still a number of matters to work through with stakeholders,” Saints CEO Matt Finnis said.
Mr Finnis said St Kilda had met regularly with Kingston Council as part of its push to revitalise the Moorabbin Reserve precinct and put forward an official proposal in February.
The Saints’ proposal to council to expand the redevelopment includes the removal of the GG Huggins stand to make way for state-of-the art training and administration facilities plus an indoor sports court.
St Kilda will also cover some ongoing maintenance costs.
