FRANKSTON Dolphins’ naming deal for Frankston Park oval has been extended into 2019, with sponsors SkyBus extending their deal through until the end of next season.
The Dolphins have been playing their home games out of ‘SkyBus Stadium’ for their return season to the VFL, and recorded a hard fought win over Coburg at the venue.
The deal was announced by club president Peter Geddes and general manager Gary Buckenara at a function on 21 September.
President Peter Geddes celebrated the deal and the completion of the Dolphins’ return season at the event.
“We won two games this year, and I think that was the light at the end of a long tunnel. We’ve got some successes to celebrate in 2018,” he said.
“When you win two games for the year you have to believe in vision. It is a real struggle that we’ve been on, and we need people to join us on our vision. We need people who share that vision. That’s why this SkyBus announcement is a tremendous one for us.”
The Frankston Dolphins saw 47 players playing state level football on the peninsula, with over 70 per cent of those being home grown players.
One of their players, Lewis Pierce, is rookie listed by St Kilda and was called up to play football at a senior AFL level during the season.
SkyBus Co-CEO and director Michael Sewards said that the decision to extend the deal with the Dolphins was an easy one to make.
“It’s a no-brainer. Frankston Dolphins are a really important part of the community, and we like to think that our little bit can go a long way to support the club. We have a really significant service in Frankston and on the peninsula which we’re growing, and the club and the community are really important to us,” he said.
“It’s easy to get on board for the first year and the hardest part is to continue on. We want to continue on and show that we are fair-dinkum about long term support for the club and the area, because we’ve got a really important service here.
“I’m really looking forward to it, and I think that next year can only be a great year.”
The Dolphins thanked their sponsors who supported them in their comeback 2018 season, and called on more support to help them carry on into the future in the long term.