The final hurdle that forced the Demons to hit pause on long-awaited home

Melbourne Football Club will consider alternative venues for its long-awaited new administration and training base after putting its detailed plans for a Caulfield Racecourse base on hold until after the Victorian election.

In a letter to members, Melbourne president Steven Smith said the Demons had chosen to “pause discussions” with the government until after the November 28 election, and that while Caulfield had been the club’s main focus, they had “in parallel, identified a number of potential alternate sites for our TAF (training and administration facility).”

Smith told members the club was nearing an agreement with the government over the Caulfield site, but Environment Minister Jaclyn Symes had requested, as a final step, that the Demons make a submission “that demonstrates the public interest in progressing the project.”

Smith said the club was confident about participating in the process, given its extensive community engagement, but the additional step, along with “several other unresolved factors” meant that they were unwilling to enter into an agreement at this time.

The establishment of a training and administration base has rivalled its pursuit of a premiership and on-field success at Melbourne for decades. The Demons had settled on Caulfield and entered into lengthy and detailed negotiations with the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve Trust, and had the backing of the state Labor government.

This masthead reported that the club’s plans for the ambitious project copped a body blow in late September when fierce opposition from the precinct’s major tenant, Melbourne Racing Club, was revealed.

MRC chairman Cameron Fisher declared at the club’s annual general meeting that the Demons’ plans “won’t happen”.

“We do not want racing in any way, shape, or form to be affected by the Melbourne Football Club, and talk of putting a tunnel under the track and disrupting racing just won’t be tolerated,” Fisher said.

“We’ll fight it tooth and nail. But as far as we’re concerned, it won’t happen.”

Melbourne also lost key support at state government level following the departure of former premier Jacinta Allan – a key ally alongside Sports Minister Steve Dimopoulos.

Melbourne first announced their ambitions to move to Caulfield in December 2023, and have since spent hundreds of thousands of dollars pursuing the idea.

Sacked Melbourne CEO Paul Guerra was initially seen as a key figure in delivering the project because of his state government connections and his role as a Racing Victoria board member, but he was never heavily involved in the process before his April dismissal, seven months after starting in the role.

The Demons fell out of favour with the MRC last year when they insisted on pushing ahead with plans to dig a tunnel under the track to link office facilities with two training grounds inside the racecourse – a proposal that would stop racing at the venue for 12 months.

Smith told members that the club had “been working in good faith with all key stakeholders” to create “a homebase that would deliver significant community benefit”.

“In 2024, we successfully completed a feasibility study which identified significant community and sporting benefits and found there was strong support and interest from local sports bodies, schools, clubs and associations to utilise and share facilities within the infield of the racecourse,” the letter said.

“At the request of the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve Trust (the Trust), we narrowed our focus on a site within the reserve that suited the Trust and club’s requirements.”

Smith said the intervention of Symes meant the proposal had to be paused.

“The introduction of this additional process, in combination with several other unresolved factors, means that we are unwilling to enter into the agreement at this time,” he wrote.

“Given this, we have made the decision to pause discussions relating to Caulfield and re-engage with Government following the election.

“We are grateful to both the trust and the government for their efforts in advancing the project to this point, particularly throughout an incredibly busy period.”

Melbourne hoped securing a facility at Caulfield would solve its decades-long search for a permanent home base.

“Caulfield has undeniably been our main focus but we have, in parallel, identified a number of potential alternate sites,” Smith wrote.

“We will now look to accelerate other prospective options alongside Caulfield to ensure we can secure a solution that will meet the needs of our AFL and AFLW programs and bring the club together in an elite facility as soon as possible.”

Waverley Park, the former VFL/AFL venue which Richmond are temporarily occupying while their Punt Road base is redeveloped, is viewed only as a possible stopgap measure for the Demons.

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Jake Niall is a Walkley award-winning sports journalist and chief AFL writer for The Age.Connect via X or email.