Matthew Pavlich celebrates a goal. Freo says it won't be changing its name from the Dockers. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun
FREMANTLE president Steve Harris has promised the club will continue to be known as the Fremantle Dockers despite announcing it is shifting its training base to Cockburn.
In conjunction with the City of Cockburn, the Dockers will build a $107 million training base on a 26,000-square metre greenfields site in Success. They hope to move there in 2016 or 2017.
"It's only two years ago that we successfully completed lengthy negotiations with Levi Strauss to have the legal right to call ourselves the Fremantle Dockers, and we have absolutely no intention of changing our name from the Fremantle Dockers either now or in the future," Harris said.
''We are and will always be known as the Fremantle Dockers."
The City of Cockburn will fund most of the project, with contributions from the Dockers, the AFL and the state and federal governments also expected.
The club has spent this year weighing up whether to redevelop its current base at Fremantle Oval or create a new base in Success, at a site known as Cockburn Central West.
In the face of a backlash from some members over abandoning their traditional home, the Dockers said it would take a compelling case to move.
The move has been seen as a fait accompli for months and club's board formally resolved this week that compelling case had been sustained.
"Given our club's traditional and historical links to Fremantle Oval, there is no question about the significance of the decision to locate our core operations away from Fremantle Oval, and this was carefully considered throughout the decision-making process," Harris said.
"In addition to the club's operating costs at Cockburn Central West being less when compared to redeveloping at Fremantle Oval, the Cockburn Central West option allows for our club to have access to a bigger indoor training facility, bigger and better aquatic facilities and provides for access to a second oval.
"It is a green field site, so there is likely to be less planning uncertainty and there will be no facility transition costs or interruption to club operations as there would be under the Fremantle Oval master plan options.
"Operating costs at the Cockburn Central West site will also be lower because we are sharing the City of Cockburn's sporting and aquatic facilities with the community. This is also a great result for the community."
Harris said the new facility presented an outstanding opportunity for the Dockers to gain an advantage over their rivals.
"When the club opened its current training and administration facility at Fremantle Oval in November 2000, the facilities were regarded as one of the better club facilities in the AFL," he said.
"However, given the advances in the past decade nationally and internationally in technology and sports science, and an increase in the competitive landscape of the AFL, the club's current facilities are now well behind the AFL benchmark.
"In addition to the Cockburn Central West site allowing for the development of a world-class training and administration facility not seen previously in Australia, the site, which is within the greater Fremantle region, provides greater prospects for future expansion, community engagement and supporter interaction."
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
We'll always be the Dockers
Dengan url
http://jokydodol.blogspot.com/2012/12/well-always-be-dockers_23.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
We'll always be the Dockers
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar