News Essendon Footy Club and Cricket Club at war over Windy Hill - fixture clashes in October

[CrowdedHouse]

TL;DR - EFC (through league) scheduled AFLW games in October at Windy Hill, without agreement (like the past 2 years) from ECC.

ECC went screw you and have just (through Premier Cricket) scheduled matches at Windy Hill in October.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/essendon-turf-war-football-and-cricket-face-off-over-iconic-windy-hill/news-story/fe2d4adfc7153d765561362f0012fc96?amp&nk=61df33c9ee10ed2d3f22dea4f0cd3064-1753174675

 

[MPMonkeys]

AFLW should be at Tullamarine.
The facilities at Windy Hill are terrible for a predominately female attended event.

 

[faible]

AFLW should be at Tullamarine.
The facilities at Windy Hill are terrible for a predominately female attended event.

Tullamarine isn't exactly easy to get to though

 

[Lore]

A few weeks after Essendon Football Club scheduled AFLW matches for the ground in October, Essendon Cricket Club has done the same for Premier Cricket fixtures as the stand-off between them continues.

An Essendon Second XI match is set down for Saturday, October 4.

October 11, 18 and 25 are also on the cricket draw, clashing with Essendon AFLW games listed for October 19 and 25.

Officials in both sports believe the issue will go to the highest levels of their administrations, if not court.

That’s the crux of it.

EFC bought them out in 2023/2024 but didn’t buy them out this year so they scheduled clashes for 2025.



Where’s Ethan eth-dog

 

[FlyingV]

How the mighty windy hill has fallen. Sad.

 

[acm21]

AFLW should be at Tullamarine.
The facilities at Windy Hill are terrible for a predominately female attended event.

Tullamarine is too far out of the way and doesn't have the fan facilities for such a game (and probably not upto broadcasting standards)

 

[thebigboy]

Just for once, can we not fold to the tenants around Windy Hill? Unless you're playing district cricket, nobody gives a shit about it. Make them play anywhere else like so many other clubs have done over the past decade.

 

[MPMonkeys]

Tullamarine is too far out of the way and doesn't have the fan facilities for such a game (and probably not upto broadcasting standards)

If the womens toilets at WH are anything like the mens toilets, then you wouldn't let your dog use them.

 

[eth-dog]

Just for once, can we not fold to the tenants around Windy Hill? Unless you're playing district cricket, nobody gives a shit about it. Make them play anywhere else like so many other clubs have done over the past decade.

Essendon Cricket Club is District level mate.

 

[faible]

Just for once, can we not fold to the tenants around Windy Hill? Unless you're playing district cricket, nobody gives a shit about it. Make them play anywhere else like so many other clubs have done over the past decade.

It's all to do with the clauses around the lease of the Windy Hill precinct (EFC don't own the land). The Cricket Club was there a long time before EFC and AFAIK the lease terms would probably mean the cricket club has priority during cricket season, thus why EFC has had to come to an agreement with them in previous seasons.

Windy Hill Dispute

In light of recent media coverage regarding the ongoing dispute with the Essendon Football Club and the use of Windy Hill, the Essendon Cricket Club would like to advise its members and supporters of the following.Many of you may have seen the release of the AFLW fixture over the weekend, which...

www.essendoncricketclub.com.au

Windy Hill, Essendon - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[thebigboy]

Essendon Cricket Club is District level mate.

I know. I phrased it poorly. What I meant was that unless you're involved in District Cricket &/or the Essendon Cricket Club, then nobody gives a shit about it.

 

[thebigboy]

It's all to do with the clauses around the lease of the Windy Hill precinct (EFC don't own the land). The Cricket Club was there a long time before EFC and AFAIK the lease terms would probably mean the cricket club has priority during cricket season, thus why EFC has had to come to an agreement with them in previous seasons.

Windy Hill Dispute

In light of recent media coverage regarding the ongoing dispute with the Essendon Football Club and the use of Windy Hill, the Essendon Cricket Club would like to advise its members and supporters of the following.Many of you may have seen the release of the AFLW fixture over the weekend, which...

www.essendoncricketclub.com.au

Windy Hill, Essendon - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I get it. This is the quote from the Code Sports article:

Essendon Football Club is the lessee of the ground and says the cricket club has no formal lease.

The cricket club says it is indeed a subtenant and has been for many years.

Tobin said the football club was simply ignoring long-term occupancy agreements.

“They’re saying we have no playing rights there, which is ridiculous.

“We are nominated subtenants under the head lease and we were nominated specifically by the Moonee Valley City Council to ensure our training and playing rights were enshrined.

“The gap in the documentation is that it doesn’t detail the dates of cricket season and football season. That current head lease was completed in 2010 – and at that stage of course there was no contemplation of anything but cricket being played in cricket season.
As well as

The football club has scheduled six AFLW games at Windy Hill, two in October, and believes the women’s team’s standing in a national competition overrides the traditional “division of seasons’’ agreement between football and cricket.

Aka - (Source https://sport.vic.gov.au/resources/...nds-for-cricket-and-afl-football-competitions)

2.2 Teams competing in National or International Competitions​

Teams competing in recognised National/International Competitions will not be subject to the dates outlined in this agreement. Separate agreements will exist between the Federal, State and/or Local Government, venue operators and/or the respective sports.

That clause underlined is probably the only reasonable argument that can be made for the Cricket Club getting priority, but I'm going to suggest that if this escalates further into the courts, AFLW will be the winner.

 

[faible]

I get it. This is the quote from the Code Sports article:

Essendon Football Club is the lessee of the ground and says the cricket club has no formal lease.

The cricket club says it is indeed a subtenant and has been for many years.

Tobin said the football club was simply ignoring long-term occupancy agreements.

“They’re saying we have no playing rights there, which is ridiculous.

“We are nominated subtenants under the head lease and we were nominated specifically by the Moonee Valley City Council to ensure our training and playing rights were enshrined.

“The gap in the documentation is that it doesn’t detail the dates of cricket season and football season. That current head lease was completed in 2010 – and at that stage of course there was no contemplation of anything but cricket being played in cricket season.
As well as

The football club has scheduled six AFLW games at Windy Hill, two in October, and believes the women’s team’s standing in a national competition overrides the traditional “division of seasons’’ agreement between football and cricket.

Aka - (Source https://sport.vic.gov.au/resources/...nds-for-cricket-and-afl-football-competitions)

2.2 Teams competing in National or International Competitions​

Teams competing in recognised National/International Competitions will not be subject to the dates outlined in this agreement. Separate agreements will exist between the Federal, State and/or Local Government, venue operators and/or the respective sports.

That clause underlined is probably the only reasonable argument that can be made for the Cricket Club getting priority, but I'm going to suggest that if this escalates further into the courts, AFLW will be the winner.

I imagine if it went to court a lot of it would come down to when the cricket season is traditionally defined to start, and given the length of time cricket has been played at Windy Hill, I don't think it's a given AFLW would win.

Sounds like EFC has been a bit shit, stuffed the cricket club around two years in a row, and not really engaged or tried particularly hard to find a solution hoping to steam roll them.

Going from memory here; There's always been an issue with the lease at Windy Hill and the community clubs, that was a big reason they ended up at Tullamarine instead of redeveloping Windy Hill. The original lease allocated space for the Croquet and Bowls clubs, and for the Cricket Club to play there. When the new redevelopment plan was mooted (in the last few years) there was mention of the bowls and cricket clubs relocating elsewhere by agreement, and basically just building around the croquet club.

 

[thebigboy]

I imagine if it went to court a lot of it would come down to when the cricket season is traditionally defined to start, and given the length of time cricket has been played at Windy Hill, I don't think it's a given AFLW would win.

Sounds like EFC has been a bit shit, stuffed the cricket club around two years in a row, and not really engaged or tried particularly hard to find a solution hoping to steam roll them.

Potentially. Probably what doesn't help is Laura Kane wanting to rationalize AFLW grounds and have a hub of 4-5, which I can't see Windy Hill being a part of without substantial redevelopment. If I recall correctly, and I vaguely remember hearing this on the radio when this first kicked off, hasn't the Footy Club blamed the Cricket Club for the delay in the plans announced in 2021 because they wouldn't seek alternative venues? Perhaps this is the club going with a strong push to get what they want.

I'm not underselling the importance of the Cricket Club to cricket, the community and junior & senior pathways, but as an AFLW venue, it's been a huge win IMO, especially as someone who loves taking my kids down. It would be a waste to lose that over District Cricket.

 

[faible]

Potentially. Probably what doesn't help is Laura Kane wanting to rationalize AFLW grounds and have a hub of 4-5, which I can't see Windy Hill being a part of without substantial redevelopment. If I recall correctly, and I vaguely remember hearing this on the radio when this first kicked off, hasn't the Footy Club blamed the Cricket Club for the delay in the plans announced in 2021 because they wouldn't seek alternative venues? Perhaps this is the club going with a strong push to get what they want.

I'm not underselling the importance of the Cricket Club to cricket, the community and junior & senior pathways, but as an AFLW venue, it's been a huge win IMO, especially as someone who loves taking my kids down. It would be a waste to lose that over District Cricket.

Oh I'd love to see more AFLW / VFL games at Windy Hill, I think it's a great location to get the community engaged in something other than AFL football.

Just seems like EFC is perhaps not blameless in this situation. When the cricket club has been there since the 1800s it's probably not going to go well if you just try to bully and steamroll them to get out.

 

[windyhill]

How the mighty windy hill has fallen. Sad.

The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.

 

[CrowdedHouse]

I get it. This is the quote from the Code Sports article:

Essendon Football Club is the lessee of the ground and says the cricket club has no formal lease.

The cricket club says it is indeed a subtenant and has been for many years.

Tobin said the football club was simply ignoring long-term occupancy agreements.

“They’re saying we have no playing rights there, which is ridiculous.

“We are nominated subtenants under the head lease and we were nominated specifically by the Moonee Valley City Council to ensure our training and playing rights were enshrined.

“The gap in the documentation is that it doesn’t detail the dates of cricket season and football season. That current head lease was completed in 2010 – and at that stage of course there was no contemplation of anything but cricket being played in cricket season.
As well as

The football club has scheduled six AFLW games at Windy Hill, two in October, and believes the women’s team’s standing in a national competition overrides the traditional “division of seasons’’ agreement between football and cricket.

Aka - (Source https://sport.vic.gov.au/resources/...nds-for-cricket-and-afl-football-competitions)

2.2 Teams competing in National or International Competitions​

Teams competing in recognised National/International Competitions will not be subject to the dates outlined in this agreement. Separate agreements will exist between the Federal, State and/or Local Government, venue operators and/or the respective sports.

That clause underlined is probably the only reasonable argument that can be made for the Cricket Club getting priority, but I'm going to suggest that if this escalates further into the courts, AFLW will be the winner.

I don't think the AFLW can win because EFC set a precedent when they paid ECC the last two years to move off the ground. A judge is probably going to look at that and ask "why did you make payment those years, but now" (seeing EFC as indirectly admitting fault)?

Part of me wonders if this is a deliberate tatic by EFC (using ECC as proxy) to make a lot of noise to get the state government to intervene and settle the issue by funding a new ground for the ECC elsewhere, so footy can have it 365 days a year.

 

[thebigboy]

I don't think the AFLW can win because EFC set a precedent when they paid ECC the last two years to move off the ground. A judge is probably going to look at that and ask "why did you make payment those years, but now" (seeing EFC as indirectly admitting fault)?

Part of me wonders if this is a deliberate tatic by EFC (using ECC as proxy) to make a lot of noise to get the state government to intervene and settle the issue by funding a new ground for the ECC elsewhere, so footy can have it 365 days a year.

Quite possibly, would make a lot of sense if they do that.

 

[Beerfish]

I for one would definitely tune in for a game of footy being played at the same time as a game of cricket.

Narrator: And so the great game of cricball was born.

 

[acm21]

I don't think the AFLW can win because EFC set a precedent when they paid ECC the last two years to move off the ground. A judge is probably going to look at that and ask "why did you make payment those years, but now" (seeing EFC as indirectly admitting fault)?

Part of me wonders if this is a deliberate tatic by EFC (using ECC as proxy) to make a lot of noise to get the state government to intervene and settle the issue by funding a new ground for the ECC elsewhere, so footy can have it 365 days a year.

Need to get the bowling club moved also

 

[Lore]

I for one would definitely tune in for a game of footy being played at the same time as a game of cricket.

Narrator: And so the great game of cricball was born.

Zach Merrett for BOG surely

 

[DapperDon]

I for one would definitely tune in for a game of footy being played at the same time as a game of cricket.

Narrator: And so the great game of cricball was born.

Pakistan are gonna kick off?

 

[Nifft]

Tullamarine isn't exactly easy to get to though

And Geelong is?

 

[faible]

And Geelong is?

For people who live in the Geelong area it might be?

 

[acm21]

And Geelong is?

Its 15 from Geelong centre, so yeah I would say so