They had plans for a medical facilities, imaging and things like that for The Hangar. However it’s all gone quiet. Suspect could relate to bureaucratic issues planning for the precinct. Windy Hill has hit an unforeseen roadblock due to issues pertaining to the Cricket Clubs ongoing management and alternative venue. Windy Hill also requires $50M funding to support its upgrade. Apart from the community aspect, this funding will I assume be used to upgrade social club and it’s entertainment areas, the sporting club and create other commercial operations the Club needs to build a sustainable business that can support ongoing investment in football and it’s related capital upgrades at The Hangar…
Talk to any social worker and they will tell you that problem gambling causes worse harm on a far far far wider scale than almost every form of illegal drugs.
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But as others said if pokies are just handed over to another operator, nothing changes.
removing gambling adds from EFC games, helps all our supporter base and their kids from having to see adds etc.
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I think we’re generally in agreement that we would like the club to divest from pokies, only when the Club is able to replace the revenue / cash flow it currently generates.
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One is illegal and one isn’t.
Yes gaming is a huge problem but it’s still legal
It’s an embarrassment, especially as we don’t need them and could comfortably recoup revenue elsewhere (make the Hanger a community centre where people and families would actually want to spend time and money for example instead of this cold isolated wasteland) get rid of them. I’m not quite at boycotting membership, game attendances and merch purchase level just yet, but I will be if this continues on much longer.
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Completely agree.
We are participating in an industry that makes profit off the misery of the least fortunate in our society. And we’re making a profit from it. That is abhorrent and it should be the beginning and the end of the discussion.
It’s wrong, and it should stop, today.
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I’m really interested to know what these non core businesses are, can you expand?
I have no problem with the club making money in any legal way they can. If they don’t someone else will.
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keep them. why the fark would we give up 9 million in revenue for something thats legal. im not shipping them off because there’s a few people out there with gambling addictions.
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While it continues to make the club great $$$ and it’s legal, i don’t know why the club would give up almost $10m
As mentioned by a few posters, if all clubs sold their pokies, someone else will slide in and pocket the proceeds.
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I have reservations in siting at Melton, where the population isn’t that affluent and there are a lot of social problems ( including gambling addiction).
If something like the NSW Premier proposals for managing in club venues were workable, I would welcome them being adapted for Melton.
They’re businesses the clubs build or acquire thst provide additional cash flows and profits to the traditional ‘footy revenues’. Idea being a strong non core business will provide financial stability during leaner periods on field.
Richmond has its Arden Leisure budiness, some clubs have made big windfalls selling hotel venues, some clubs have large abd multifaceted community precincts that generate financially like gyms, restaurants, learning centres etc.
if there were a fixed number of drug dealers that were licensed and regulated by the government, this would be a great analogy
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The majority of the NRL wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for pokies, yet a few AFL clubs have them and it’s big news.
Just think, if GWS and Gold Coast had have followed the traditional leagues club model in NSW & QLD, the AFL competition would be in a lot healthier state of affairs, money going back into grassroots and community football. Instead they are emptying out the AFL coffers every year and nobody in NSW and QLD gives a ■■■■ anyway, because every other sporting club in their state is into pokies and making millions.
Anyhow, that’s just my take on things, giving the opposition a competitive advantage isn’t good, pokies should be governed by tighter government regulation, not a moral code of each sporting club, RSL etc.
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The same mistake was made in SA too. Originally it was only meant to be sporting clubs, the Casino and RSL’s that got pokies but the government caved in and gave licenses to hotels. Naturally they were all gobbled up by the large publican cartel and in turn the smaller venues such as mine sold some off and Woolworths now have the lions share of pokies
now endeavour group, so people can feel nice and good they only investing in woolies not Dan murphys, BWS or gambling/pokies sites
Agree. Just because its legal to suck-blood, and others will, doesn’t mean its OK to be a blood-sucker. One imagines (but I don’t know this) the licences have value and that cash can look after us until we fill the void.
Hawthorn, the pokie kings, did it pretty quickly, so so can Essendon.
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This is not football discussion.
How is it sucking blood? Like it or not, gambling is a legal form of entertainment. Yes there are people that can’t control themselves, but the same could be said about owning a restaurant or bar and serving people that can’t control the amount of food or alcohol they consume.