Geoff Lord puts hand up to help keep eighth Super Netball franchise in Victoria after Collingwood withdrawal

A white knight with a track record of creating successful elite sporting teams has put his hand up to take on the eighth Super Netball licence and build a new Victorian team from scratch.

Melbourne rich-lister Geoff Lord, who has a track record of building elite sporting teams from scratch, wants to take on the eighth Super Netball licence and launch a new Victorian team.

Lord, the founder and former chairman of Melbourne Victory, now the CEO of Belgravia Leisure, said he had registered his interest with Netball Australia, regarding the now vacant eighth spot in the Super Netball competition.

The licence was officially on the market on Thursday after Collingwood Magpies announced it was folding its netball franchise.

Two of many reasons Collingwood struggled to survive in the competition was money and the lack of support from Netball Victoria, due to being privately owned.

Lord’s net worth was assessed as $569 million in 2020 and his company is estimated to be worth $80 million.

Melbourne Victory's Chairman Geoff Lord with his Hawthorn and Melbourne Victory gear.

He said he was more than willing to work alongside or with Netball Victoria and hoped to talk to the organisation as soon as possible.

Ticking two big boxes.

“We have the money, we don’t want to run at a loss, we would like it to break even at least,” Lord said.

“But it isn’t just geared towards money. We are about making kids more active, that is what drives us.

“I’m a fan of women’s sport and netball is one of the better women’s sports. Belgravia Group looks after 150,000 learn to swim kids, we are in gymnastics, outdoor education, we are in martial arts and dance.”

Geelong could be the new home of a Super Netball team.

Bendigo has been floated at a possible regional home for a Super Netball team.

Netball Australia CEO Kelly Ryan said they had received interest from multiple parties.

Late on Thursday after the news broke Netball Victoria confirmed it was on a mission to keep the licence and a second team in Victoria.

Lord, was the architect behind Melbourne Victory and secured the licence for the inaugural season of the A-League.

“When I got the Melbourne Victory licence I had five months to put a side on the field, we had no name, no colours, no ground, management and no players,” Lord said.

“We did it in the five months and we won the competition in the second year, 6-0, in front of 55,000 people.”

Melbourne Victory is still one of the most well-supported clubs in the A-League, almost 20 years after it was founded.

They have won four championships, three premierships and two Australia Cups.

There have been calls for the eighth club to be based in a regional Victorian town – to remove the clash of two Melbourne based teams.

Lord said his preference was to create another Melbourne team but was open to also setting up in Bendigo or Geelong.

Venue wouldn’t be a problem with Belgravia Leisure operating hundreds of council owned stadiums across Victoria.

The businessman remained tight-lipped on any potential team names or colours – saying it was too early for that and would depend on where the team would be based.

“This is something I’ve wanted to do for a while,” Lord said.

“We are a supporter of (West Coast) Fever and a number of AFL clubs. We expressed an interest a couple of years ago at a Super Netball team in Adelaide but that didn’t happen.

“This may not happen, but it is essential for women’s sport for the Collingwood licence to be retained and reinvigorated.”

Originally published as Geoff Lord puts hand up to help keep eighth Super Netball franchise in Victoria after Collingwood withdrawal