Casey cake

By Lia Bichel and
THE number of local footy fans donning red and blue is expected to soar, with Casey Fields now the official home of the Melbourne Football Club.
The AFL club, City of Casey Council and Casey Scorpions finalised the agreement on 2 June and made the official announcement at Casey fields on 5 June.
Mayor Geoff Ablett said the City of Casey welcomed Melbourne with open arms.
“The sealing of the agreement is absolutely fantastic news for the entire Casey community and is a historic moment in the history of our city as it’s an extremely rare occurrence for a council to partner with an AFL team,” he said.
“It will see the Melbourne Football Club undertake a number of activities at local schools, businesses and junior and senior football clubs at an estimated value of more than $630,000 per year,” he said.
Under the agreement, the Demons will train at the pavilion once a week during the football season for the next 30 years.
Melbourne Football Club president Jim Stynes said the length of the agreement was a serious commitment for the Demons and the City of Casey’s futures.
“We have basically been nomads until now,” Mr Stynes said.
He said the team was excited to have a ‘home away from home’ and was looking forward to forming a relationship with the local community.
“It’s not just a training ground, but an opportunity to engage with the community. We want kids to fall in love with the players and follow their careers.”
As part of the agreement, the VFL pavilion at Casey Fields will undergo a $2.1 million extension.
This will be funded by council ($1.250 million), Melbourne Football Club ($150,000), the AFL ($175,000) and the State Government ($525,000) which will include an additional covered spectator area, Melbourne Football Club’s summer training operations, and once a week training sessions during the football season.
The benefits to the commun ity included enhanced match day facilities, reinforcement of Casey Fields as the elite Australian Rules venue in south-east Melbourne, a substantial upgrade to the VFL facility at Casey Fields, AFL players as community role models.