THE federal government will put $15 million of taxpayer funds into Hawthorn Football Club’s new Dingley Village home.
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack visited the Dingley Village site to make the announcement. “I know how important it is to have an inclusive, accessible centre that caters for all levels of athletes, including teams in the AFL, AFLW and VFLW,” he said.
“This is why the Australian government has unlocked the funding to help create a facility with a community pavilion and oval built to AFLW specifications, featuring gender-equal facilities and amenities, as well as flexible education and learning spaces.”
Hawthorn FC president Jeff Kennett said “the City of Kingston is a rapidly growing region and the Kennedy Community Centre will help the greater south-east in catering to changing needs and the increased participation in sport and recreation amongst the community.”
The new facility is planned to include a pavilion and oval for community use, education and learning spaces, an indoor stadium for basketball and netball, a main oval and training facility for the club, and administrative spaces.
Hawthorn FC told members that work on the project has been put on hold in March (“Hawks Dingley Village plans on hold”, The News, 25/3/20). In a letter sent to members last week, Mr Kennett said “all is on track to commence further site work early in the New Year.”
“We are hopeful by year’s end the Kingston Council will approve their financial contribution to the project,” he said. “On the other hand, the state government did not allocate funds to the project in the most recent budget, even though our project had been supported by many departmental officials. While this is disappointing it is understandable given the politics here in Victoria at present. It is the community of south-east Melbourne that are really the ones who have been discriminated against more than the club.”
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 9 December 2020