Essendon Football Club today officially opened the True Value Solar Centre at Melbourne Airport.
More than 200 guests attended the ceremony, with The Hon. Minister for Sport and Recreation and Veteran Affairs Hugh Delahunty MP and Chairman Paul Little ‘cutting the ribbon’ to formally commemorate the occasion.
As part of the formalities, guests were entertained by the Fighting Gunditjmara Dance Group, had a first look at the time capsule buried at the entrance of the building and were taken on a guided tour behind the scenes of the state-of-the-art training and administration facilities by the player leadership group.
Little said it was a historic day for the club and acknowledged the hard work and commitment of everyone involved in bringing the project to life.
"What was a mere pipe dream in 2010 is now an exciting reality for the Essendon Football Club and we hope to welcome generations of new Essendon supporters to this incredible facility at Melbourne Airport," Little said.
"We wanted to give our players the best chance for future success but most of all, we needed to bring our players in to the current time.”
"The True Value Solar Centre is a world class venue that will provide our players, coaches and staff with the best possible facilities every day they go to work."
Play your part in the new facility today by donating to the Flight Plan.
Senior coach Mark Thompson said the move from Windy Hill to the True Value Solar Centre had re-energised the entire organisation.
"I have noticed that every person that walks in to the club now for the first time is blown away," Thompson said.
"People are proud to come to work knowing they are part of this outstanding facility. The players know how important this will be in contributing to their on-field success.
"We needed a facility that was going to allow us to provide the services to our players to give them the best chance to be the best team that we can be.
"Nothing can win the premiership for you but having the facility, having the two ovals, it allows us to put a better program out there and if we do that, it gives the chance for our players to become better which gives us a better chance of winning that premiership."
Captain Jobe Watson said the players were grateful for the opportunity to be able to train and prepare in a world-class facility.
"The move to the True Value Solar Centre was vitally important for the football club. As a playing group, we are proud to come to work every day and train in this state-of-the-art facility," Watson said.
"This facility will play a significant part in our on-field progress as we continue to develop and improve over the next few years."
Play your part in the new facility today by donating to the Flight Plan.
Architect Daryl Jackson said there was an element of symbolism throughout the design process.
"Within the training hall the symbolism is about an athletic circumstance - you're not coming in to a factory so we wanted to keep it feeling light," Jackson said.
"The lightness of the truss and the cables that pin it together is like a bow-and-arrow form which fits the way in which the club plays its football.
"It has been designed so the indoor gymnasium overlooks the oval and looks back in to the training hall so that the coaches can move the players in groups around the spaces."
The True Value Solar Centre is also the new Victorian headquarters of the Australian Paralympic Committee.
Australian Paralympic Committee President Greg Hartung welcomed the partnership with Essendon.
“This facility will become a Paralympic sporting hub. As well as providing a new home for the APC’s Victorian Administration, it has been designed to be barrier free for people with a disability and will become a training base for Australian Para-athletes and teams.”
Melbourne Airport Chief Executive Officer Chris Woodruff welcomed the Bombers to their new home.
“We are delighted to officially welcome Essendon Football Club to Melbourne Airport and we look forward to continuing to work closely with the club in developing the talented young people of Melbourne’s north-west through our community program of talent camps, workshops and master classes,” Woodruff said.
With land measuring over 100,000 square metres, more than double the footprint of Windy Hill, the new precinct allows for unprecedented future growth and delivers a multi-generational outcome for the club.
Located on Melrose Drive, the True Value Solar Centre is approximately three kilometres from the Melbourne Airport terminal, less than 10km from Windy Hill and 18km from the Melbourne CBD.
Funding of Essendon's new training and administration facility has required the club borrowing $5 million to complete building works.
The club has achieved over 70% of its fundraising target for the new facility thanks in part to many generous contributions to The Flight Plan campaign.
