Melbourne Football Club’s board has blocked incoming CEO Paul Guerra from working on plans for a potential new home at Caulfield Racecourse until he starts the role in September.
Guerra has had to delay talks with government contacts and cancel a meeting with Caulfield Racecourse Reserve Trust as a result of the ban, according to two sources with direct knowledge who are not authorised to talk publicly because of the private nature of the negotiations.
Paul Guerra has been appointed the Melbourne Football Club’s next CEO, and will take the reins in September.Credit: Jason South
The Demons have also ended former chief executive Gary Pert’s role as a consultant on the project.
Pert, who resigned as Melbourne CEO at the end of last year, had been expected to oversee the delivery of a Caulfield business case for the $100 million development by the middle of this year.
But while Pert’s paid tenure has ended slightly short of their agreed July date, the business case has been pushed back until Guerra joins the club.
Two sources not qualified to speak publicly said Pert would remain available to the club on an “as-needs basis”, while Guerra would become involved in stakeholder discussions once he started on September 8.
The state government has indicated its involvement will be dependent on the business model, which is now being driven by interim Demons CEO David Chippindall and the Melbourne board.
Guerra is currently the CEO of the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and sits on the Racing Victoria board.
He declined to comment when contacted by this masthead. Melbourne Football Club and Pert also declined to comment.
The Demons will have a change of leadership at year’s end when Steven Smith is expected to take over from president Brad Green.
An artist’s impression of the Demons’ proposed home.
The Caulfield proposal includes two football ovals inside the racecourse and training facilities that would sit outside the track on Crown land.
Melbourne is expected to provide $15 million from cash reserves and $15 million in a fundraising drive. They will not dip into their future fund, but hope to convince the state and federal governments and the AFL to contribute $70 million.
The Caulfield Racecourse Reserve Trust manages the precinct and would negotiate any future lease.
Caulfield Racecourse Reserve Trust chairman Sam Almaliki said improving community usage of the precinct was important.
“The trust’s major interest in this project, whether it is Melbourne Football Club or anybody, is to see funding that improves facilities and community access to those facilities, including the two football ovals that would go in – because they would be made available for community use as well as the football club. That’s our interest in this,” Almaliki said.
MRC chairman John Kanga was contacted for comment.
The Demons currently split their training between Casey Fields in the south-eastern suburbs, where the AFLW team trains and plays, and Gosch’s Paddock on Olympic Boulevard.
A new home at Caulfield would see Melbourne become neighbours with Melbourne Racing Club and the proposed Mount Scopus College mega campus.
Mount Scopus has agreed to a $195 million deal to buy a large tract of land that runs alongside Caulfield Racecourse from Melbourne Racing Club.
But the racecourse and grandstand facilities sit on Crown land, leased by the MRC from the trust.
The MRC board has also come under the spotlight during the past fortnight after it removed CEO Tom Reilly from his position and appointed Tanya Fullarton as chief operation officer without advertising the role.
Fullarton is a close associate of billionaire horse owner Jonathan Munz, sitting alongside him on the Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners Association board.
MRC board member Barbara Saunders resigned on learning Reilly would lose his job.
“I resigned because I had concerns about the lack of governance at the club and the removal of Tom Reilly from his position as CEO because, in my opinion, he was performing the role very well,” Saunders said.
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