Essendon to receive $6.3 million in state budget to upgrade Tullamarine headquarters
Essendon believes its ambition to re-emerge as one of the AFL’s destination clubs will be assisted by a multi-million dollar upgrade of its Tullamarine base. Here’s how The Hangar will look.
Essendon
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Essendon will spend $21 million upgrading its “Hangar” headquarters at Tullamarine.
In a season of cost cuts the Bombers have secured another $6.3 million in funding from the Andrews Government in this month’s state budget.
The Tullamarine revamp includes unisex change rooms for female and local football, a community education hub, function centre, cafe and medical facilities.
Essendon’s Hall of Fame and museum will also be reopened.
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Bombers chairman Paul Brasher said he hoped the upgrade would help restore Essendon to “destination club” status.
“I think back to the time when good players would come in from interstate and look at us (at Windy Hill) for about a minute and a half before going to club B,” Brasher said.
“It will help us to integrate our VFL program more clearly and then there are all the main community benefits.”
Brasher said the club had begun preliminary discussions with candidates for the vacant football operations job.
The findings of his review into the club’s football department will be tabled with the board on Friday.
“This part has been all about football, which is obviously our No. 1 priority, but I’ve got quite a bit more work to do around the club itself talking to people and lifting a few stones,” he said.
Sports Minister Martin Pakula said the Tullamarine upgrade would “inspire more women and girls to get involved in sport in Melbourne’s north and give them the high-quality facilities to develop their skills”.
The Hangar will also continue to be the home of Paralympics Australia.
Essendon is pushing for an AFLW licence as soon as 2022.
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