Months of building delays lock East Malvern Panthers out of clubrooms on eve of 100th season

They’re proudly poised to enter their 100th season of football, but players from a booming suburban club have had no pavilion for months due to a building delay — and it’s already cost them a season-opening home game.

Players are locked out of the Dunlop pavilion at Lucas Reserve, due to months-long delays.

Another suburban football club has become entangled in council red tape, with a hold up in building works locking it out of its clubrooms.

East Malvern is entering its 100th season of football but it’s been a frustrating build-up to the milestone for the Southern league Panthers.

Players and coaches had no changerooms during summer and had to strip at the side of the ground owing to delays in the redevelopment of the Dunlop pavilion at Lucas Reserve.

The project was meant to be completed months ago.

It follows news earlier this week that City of Greater Dandenong had forced Springvale Districts to shut a corporate box made out of a shipping container.

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The hold up has cost the club a home game, with Saturday’s season-opener against Mordialloc being taken to Ben Kavanagh Reserve.

But the City of Stonnington is promising East Malvern the pavilion will be ready for handover for its next home match, on April 27.

Fit-out works are underway.

East Malvern’s Alex Hywood tackles Mordialloc’s Alisdair Jackson. Picture: AAP/ Chris Eastman

When the Leader visited on Wednesday afternoon, temporary fencing surrounded the building.

The council said in a written statement that building works “have been completed for some time, however delays related to service authority works have delayed commissioning and handover of the facility’’.

“Council is continuing to liaise with these authorities to ensure access is available for the first scheduled games at the ground for the season and we are working with clubs regarding their training requirements,’’ it said.

But no portable buildings or showers or toilets have been installed for the players.

The East Malvern senior and junior clubs and the East Malvern Tooronga Cricket Club are based at the ground.

But the long wait and wrangling with the council exhausted senior president Craig Roylance, who resigned late last week.

The junior club also resigned from the Malvern Sports and Recreation Social Club.

With the pavilion being redeveloped the football clubs used portables in 2018 but they were removed at the end of the season.

Stonnington Council said the total cost of the project was about $5 million, with the State Government and tenant clubs contributing $1 million.

“Council is working with the tenant clubs to develop appropriate governance arrangements to manage the facility going forward,’’ the council statement said.