Melbourne Football Club’s plan to build a new home base at Caulfield Racecourse is on life support, following fierce opposition from the precinct’s major tenant Melbourne Racing Club.
The powerful racing organisation dealt a hammer blow to the Demons last week when MRC chairman Cameron Fisher declared the football club’s ambitious $100 million project “won’t happen”.
“As far as we’re concerned, it’s a dead matter,” Fisher told members at the MRC’s annual general meeting.
The Demons have also lost key support at state government level since the departure of former premier Jacinta Allan, who along with Sports Minister Steve Dimopoulos was seen as a chief ally, while the football club’s position could be further weakened by a Coalition victory at the upcoming state election.
Caulfield Racecourse sits on crown land that is managed by a government-appointed trust. Liberal MP David Southwick, the member for Caulfield, has been outspoken in his opposition of the Demons’ plans.
Melbourne first announced their ambitions to move to Caulfield Racecourse in December 2023, and have since spent hundreds of thousands of dollars pursuing the idea.
But 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.
“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.”
The Melbourne venture is being overseen by Demons president Steve Smith and vice-president Geoff Porz.
“The club continues to engage constructively with the Victorian government and we’re grateful for the positive discussions we’ve had to date,” a Melbourne spokesperson said on Monday.
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 Age reported last month that Guerra had launched Federal Court action against the club for unfair dismissal.
Spring Street approval is essential to the Demons, as any new lease at Caulfield Racecourse has to be approved by the state government.
“We’re continuing to work with Melbourne Football Club on their plan for a consolidated high-performance training and administration base for both its men’s and women’s teams at Caulfield Racecourse Reserve,” a government spokesperson said on Monday.
The Demons released a feasibility study in September 2024 that showed their Caulfield project met with community expectations, but they have since missed several deadlines to present a business case.
The Age reported in April that Melbourne had been given until June 30 to prove to the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve Trust they could fund the $100 million development.
The Demons failed to meet that request, but Trust chairman Sam Almaliki stepped down from the role at the end of June and the body was yet to name his replacement.
Almaliki was critical of the football club for not being able to fulfil its commitment to the site, telling The Age the Demons wanted to build a “Taj Mahal” home base with a “budget for a granny flat”.
“The one critical piece that is beyond the trust’s role and responsibility in this is the funding required to make the project a reality,” Almaliki said.
In a separate development at Caulfield, Melbourne Racing Club assured members that its $195 million land-sale agreement with Mount Scopus Memorial College was still going ahead and would clear the club of debt.
The college has until December to exercise a two-year option on the deal.
“Everything is on track with the Mount Scopus sale,” Fisher said. “We’ve met every requirement that we need to, the option concludes in December, at which stage we go into a full contract with a one-year settlement.
“As a real estate agent, it’s not done until it starts. But it’s always been the case that the option expires, and no one’s likely to exercise an option beforehand – they’ll leave it to the last minute. But everything is on track.”
The MRC said the land sale, involving a 7.5-hectare site on the western side of the racecourse, would save them $11 million a year in bank interest.
The MRC lost $10.6 million in the past financial year, following a $14.7 million loss the year before, but brought in $128.2 million from its 17 poker machine venues at a $48.3 million profit.
Board members Belinda Meyers, Caitrin Kelly and Robyn Gray were re-elected to the MRC committee last week, while 24-year-old challenger Fergus Ewart was unsuccessful.
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