Homeless Saints look to Casey Fields

By Marc McGowan
ST Kilda Football Club is considering Casey Fields as a new base after a breakdown in negotiations with the City of Kingston led the Saints to announce they were leaving their long-term home at Moorabbin.
A touted $10.5 million upgrade to the Moorabbin facility was to have been paid for by the AFL, the State Government, St Kilda and the Kingston Council.
But with the latter pulling out of the proposed deal, Casey Fields has emerged as a potential new suitor, along with Port Melbourne’s TEAC Oval.
The Saints are hoping to be training in a world-class venue by 2009 and City of Casey major Colin Butler believes Casey Fields fits the bill.
“I believe that Casey Fields is one of the few locations that can make such an objective a reality – we have the site available,” he said.
“The existing VFL complex has an outstanding playing surface and hosted a NAB Challenge series match between Essendon and Hawthorn only two months ago.
“The site is available immediately and there would not be extended statutory processes and negotiations to undertake.”
St Kilda has an existing alliance with the local VFL side, the Casey Scorpions, which plays its home matches at Casey Fields, so the move would make sense.
The Scorpions’ general manager, Brian Woodman, is excited about the possibility of sharing the City of Casey’s premier sporting complex with the Saints.
“Some people are saying it might take away something from the club, but I don’t believe that,” he said.
“Certainly an AFL club would attract the attention of everybody in the region, but in an overall sense, it would only add to the value of our football club.”
Mr Woodman and his club have been in discussions over the past 12 to 18 months with St Kilda about alternative plans to Moorabbin, although he believes it is far from a fait accompli that the Saints will leave. “It is an option that the Saints have looked at and if they don’t stay at Moorabbin it would certainly be on their radar,” Mr Woodman said.
“But I still believe there is plenty of water to go under the bridge with negotiations between the City of Kingston and St Kilda Football Club.”