Saints weigh their options

By Sarah Schwager
THE St Kilda Football Club and Casey Council have met for the first time to discuss the club’s possible relocation to Casey Fields.
St Kilda chief executive Archie Fraser met Casey mayor Colin Butler, councillors Kevin Bradford, Rob Wilson and Steve Beardon and chief executive Mike Tyler at the council chambers last Thursday.
St Kilda is considering its options for a home base after a fallout with its local council, Kingston Council, last month over whether poker machine licenses could be located to a rebuilt home.
St Kilda has now begun speaking formally with other councils while continuing negotiations with Kingston.
Mr Tyler said a relocation was still up in the air.
He said he believed while there was a 20 per cent chance of St Kilda coming to Casey, there was a better than 50 per cent chance that they would stay at Moorabbin.
Cr Butler said the initial meeting had gone very well, but there were still a few things for St Kilda to sort out.
“Obviously we will be meeting again with them,” he said. “They’ve got to put together a few things, and they have other sites to look at.
“If they could get what they want at Moorabbin they would take it. But if not, Casey would certainly be their most favoured option.”
Frankston has now also thrown itself into the mix of possible locations for the elite club.
Cr Butler said another point discussed was the community benefits, which formed part of the funding by the State Government if St Kilda relocated to Casey Fields.
“We would be looking at basketball courts, meeting rooms, change rooms for Cranbourne Football Club. They were just some of the things brought up at the meeting.”
However, Cr Bradford said there was still a lot of bridges to cross before he could wholeheartedly support the move.
“It is wholly dependent upon the effect it has on local clubs’ ability to use Casey Fields and any revenue that they may obtain from this facility,” he said.
“There are obvious benefits for St Kilda to come to Casey and there are obvious benefits to the community, in particular Cranbourne.
“However, I still do have some concerns and I hope those concerns are able to be addressed.
“I am surprised Cr Beardon didn’t react at the mention of the possibility of increasing pokie machines.
“I still maintain that I have concerns about the direct involvement the CEO (Mike Tyler) has with this particular project as compared to projects such as the Maternal and Child Health delivery.”
Cr Beardon said he was very pleased with the outcome of the meeting and looked forward to continuing talks with St Kilda.
“I certainly welcome the club’s interest,” he said. “They are talking, if they relocate, of finding a home for their administration and training, with no pokies, so they are welcome.
“The club’s presence would contribute to the local economy, and see Cranbourne become one of Victoria’s premier sporting precincts”