New Melbourne CEO Gary Pert reveals the club’s plans for an exciting new future
New Demons chief Gary Pert wants to make Melbourne great again. And as the one-time Collingwood boss plots his club’s course, he says the Dees don’t want to be like the Pies.
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New Melbourne chief executive Gary Pert has revealed how the oldest club in the game plans to re-establish itself as a modern AFL power — on and off the field.
But he insists the Demons will do it their own way, and won’t copy what the other powerhouse teams have done.
“We don’t want to be Collingwood; we don’t want to be Richmond; we don’t want to be Hawthorn,” Pert said. “We want to be the best version of the Melbourne Football Club we can be.”
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“I don’t want Melbourne to be like any other club, because it isn’t. Melbourne has got so much great history, so much pride, so many characters.
“Yes, the club has gone through some tough times, and we may have lost some momentum because of that.
“But we want to be rebuilding that — we want to grow the club, grow the membership base and grow the connection with our supporters.”
In his first extended interview since taking on the role two months ago — following 10 years as Collingwood’s chief executive — Pert said he was excited to be working with chairman Glenn Bartlett, the board and the staff in chasing future success for Melbourne in a football and commercial sense.
Pert’s thoughts about the future include growing the membership well beyond this year’s figure of 45,000; building a state-of-the-art training, administrative and social base in Yarra Park, where the club was born 160 years ago; getting rid of almost $3 million of debt as soon as possible, as well as having the team regularly engaged in blockbuster games.
Ultimately, an alignment of all those things, could help Melbourne’s pursuit of its first flag since 1964, which happened eight months before Pert was born.
GROWING THE BASE
Having been the architect of taking Collingwood from just under 40,000 members to a peak of almost 80,000 within a decade, Pert sees similar possibilities at Melbourne.
“We are going to be very passionate in our approach of asking our supporters why they aren’t members, and trying to find solutions,” Pert said.
His confidence stems from two pointers.
The first is that the playing group looks set for a sustained competitive period, following the club’s first finals appearance in 12 years.
But it also comes from targeted groups the club is desperate to re-engage with.
Pert hopes the club can convince fans who are Melbourne Cricket Club members to “tick the box”, making them also Melbourne Football Club members. There are 23,000 MCC members who barrack for Melbourne; only half are Demons’ members.
Convincing the rest to do the same would add $1 million to the bottom line each year.
“We love our connection with the MCC members, but if they all just ticked the box to also become Melbourne Football Club members, it would go a long way to helping us to erase the debt, have more money in the bank, and invest money in our footy department and membership services.”
Members who lapsed during the club’s rollercoaster ride over the past decade will also be sought, including a “lost generation” of kids.
“Most clubs have got generational support,” he said. “Melbourne, being the oldest club, should have that. But the numbers show we have lost a generation of kids.”
A DEMON HOME
Pert has surveyed many Melbourne supporters about what they want — and besides the obvious answer of a flag — the answer always comes back to a better connection with the club.
That’s understandable given the Demons are the only club without a home base that houses players, coaches and staff alike, as well as facilities for fans to celebrate or commiserate after a game.
That’s where the club’s plan for a new multi-million base at Yarra Park comes in.
“The chance to help create something that would define the club and potentially leave a legacy was the thing I found as exciting as anything else,” he said.
“We have no designated home base and no social club. The layout (of the administration) means we are in four different locations within the MCG, and we have a shared facility for our football department (at AAMI Park).
“We are the only club without one.”
Pert said the club’s five-year plan was to have a new facility operational, stressing the location was critical, given Yarra Park was the club’s historical home.
“The Melbourne Football Club started here in the Yarra Park precinct … it is important that we can say ‘here is our club, here is our meeting point’,” he said.
The club is in the “early stages” of dealing with key stakeholders, including the state government, the City of Melbourne, the MCC and the local community.
WHY HE TOOK ON THE JOB
Pert was on a beach at Noosa earlier this year when he took a call asking him about Melbourne’s CEO role.
He hadn’t intended returning to football, but the chance to help shape Melbourne’s rebirth — which he stressed was already well underway when he agreed to join the club — was too good to miss out on.
There was conjecture over Pert’s appointment, due to the fact that Demons general manager of football operations Josh Mahoney was perceived to be the frontrunner for the role.
Pert met with Mahoney as his first priority after taking the position, and assured him that his development as an industry leader would continue.
“I caught up with Josh straight after it,” Pert said. “There is no doubt he is a leader of the future in the industry.
“Josh has taken on a bigger role here and he has been fantastic.”
STYLE AND SUBSTANCE
Pert has been impressed with both the football program in place as well as the style in which the Melbourne played throughout 2018.
“I think the style of play is every bit as exciting as where we finished up on the ladder,” he said. “It is the style that makes you want to come and watch.”
“I am so proud of the role models we have at the club, including the coaches, the captains (Nathan Jones and Jack Viney), the leadership group and the playing list.”
“A lot of the work was started by other people, including ‘Roosy’ (former coach Paul Roos) and others, but what Simon (Goodwin) and Josh (Mahoney) and other leaders have done has to be commended.”
A validation of the program has been the club’s capacity to attract key signings, including Jake Lever last year and Steven May in October.
Pert remains convinced the playing group won’t be scarred by the mauling it copped from West Coast in the preliminary final.
“All great teams who end up having periods of success come back to a reality check game, like the one we had against West Coast,” he said. “That game could be exactly what was needed to show them how hard it is to make a Grand Final, let alone win one.”
PERT’S PRIORITIES FOR THE DEMONS
— Grow the club’s membership to 60,000-70,000
— Build an iconic facility and training base in the Yarra Park precinct that would provide a greater connection between theplayers, coaching staff, administration, members and supporters
— To be debt free (currently almost $3 million)
— To be playing in regular big marquee games, building on the success of Queen’s Birthday (against Collingwood) and AnzacEve (against Richmond)
— To be consistently playing in finals
To join the Demons go to membership.melbournefc.com.au or call 1300 DEMONS (1300 336 667).
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