How Collingwood members could lose rights to the Ponsford Stand for both home and away games
Eddie McGuire has come out swinging over moves by rival clubs to steal Collingwood members’ reserved seats at the MCG.
Fiona Byrne
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Eddie McGuire has broken his silence on moves by rival clubs to unpick a longstanding deal allowing Collingwood members exclusive reserved seating at the MCG.
The former Magpies president, speaking exclusively to the Sunday Herald Sun, fired up and called for Richmond and Hawthorn to back off from trying to steal the club’s seats.
He said it was insulting the MCG and AFL were considering reneging on its agreement that gives Collingwood members rights to the Ponsford Stand for both home and away games.
The pact means Richmond and Hawthorn have to relocate their reserved seat members when playing home games against the Pies at the G.
Brendon Gale, the Richmond CEO, has claimed it was “unfair” and “prejudicial” to the Tigers, and failed to reflect his club’s contribution to the “status of the MCG”.
McGuire said it was the Collingwood Football Club who has stood by the MCG from the beginning, when other clubs left.
“I don’t have any problem with Brendon Gale doing it, but I am actually insulted to be honest on behalf of all Collingwood people that the MCG and the AFL would even contemplate it,” McGuire said.
“All these clubs had the chance to do a deal with the MCG and all of them ran out the door.
“When they started what is now Marvel Stadium it was going to be called Victoria Stadium to get Collingwood from Victoria Park.
“It was all offered to Collingwood, then Essendon went and eventually Carlton went, and St Kilda, and all these teams signed up.
“In the end Collingwood stayed and did the ripping deal at the MCG.
“When the new Northern Stand was opened, I invited all the Collingwood members to turn up, I showed them where their seats were and stood with MCC boss Stephen Gough and told our supporters ‘that is your seat for life’.
“That was the deal in word and spirit.”
McGuire said it was Collingwood’s support of the MCG, the money its games and members funnelled into the ground and the deals the club was a part of with the AFL that helped the venue reach its world-class status.
“I’d remind the MCC and the AFL who built the MCG and who financed it and the deals that were done and why they were done,” he said.
“They should never underestimate the Collingwood members and what they have done for this game. They built that ground, the Southern Stand and the Northern Stand.”
He said $50 million also went into the AFL members stand because of a deal the Collingwood Football Club made with Andrew Demetriou.
A further $250 million was invested into rebuilding Marvel stadium and the MCG received 25 new grand finals off the back of Collingwood’s negotiating skills, McGuire said.
“So they want to not have short memories,” he said.
“When suddenly Brendon Gale goes this is not fair to Richmond, I remind him that he sold their games to Cairns and Melbourne sold their games too, and Essendon left and Carlton left and when no one was there and it was a building site, one team was there, the Collingwood
Football Club, and we did the deals and that is why we are here (Olympic Park) and that is why we are there (MCG) and that is why they are tenants and we are partners.”
While McGuire is no longer officially involved with the Collingwood Football Club he was president of the Magpies when the deals were hatched between 1998 and 2004.
“I hope the clubs instead of trying to take away from good ideas and long traditions and deals that have been done which built great facilities actually come up with their own ideas rather than trying to take off the table what has already been done,” he said.
“Brendon Gale, he is trying to get one game from Collingwood, but if this goes through that affects Collingwood in about five or six games.
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