Several Victorian clubs are angrily calling for change to an agreement that gives Collingwood advantageous arrangements at the MCG.
The Age reports the Magpies are in “sensitive negotiations” with the Melbourne Cricket Club over the deal with fellow MCG tenants Richmond, Hawthorn and Melbourne calling for change.
Under the current deal the Tigers, Hawks and Demons must relocate their reserved seat members in the Ponsford Stand when playing home games against the Magpies at the ground.
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It also sees the Magpies keep the same dressing rooms at the MCG regardless of whether they are the home or away team.
The deal was struck long ago with Collingwood CEO Craig Kelly arguing the agreement fairly reflected the club’s impact on the ground’s growth.
“Collingwood moved from Victoria Park to the MCG and the deal Eddie McGuire and the board devised was one to support the redevelopment and the longstanding growth of the MCG. We were the founding tenant club and we brought all our members across,” Kelly said.
“We wanted our people to have their home and their seats and it was consistent for them and they felt like they were still at Vic Park all those years, because we helped drive the economics of that stadium whereas clubs such as Carlton and Essendon went to what is now Marvel Stadium.
“We are now in negotiations and working through with the MCC and, ultimately, we will work with the other clubs and the AFL to get an outcome that works importantly for our members but especially with Richmond and the issues they have got with our arrangement.”
Melbourne has been a tenant of the MCG since 1858 and Richmond since 1965, with Collingwood moving there in 1993.
But the other MCG tenants are frustrated at the deal with Richmond CEO Brendon Gale saying it is “no longer acceptable”.
“Those clubs argue that their capacity to service their members is compromised and that the agreement potentially stops the MCG being a full house when they play a home game against Collingwood if seats they might be able to fill are left vacant by Magpie members,” the report stated.
The Magpies were told five years ago the deal needed to be reworked in time for 2024 yet negotiations remain ongoing.
“We have got thousands of reserved seat members that have to get up and move and vacate their reserved seats when we play a home game against Collingwood,” Gale said.
“There is the inconvenience which impacts their match day experience and the value of that membership but there is also a financial aspect to it as well.
“We are a club that has been at the MCG since 1965 and have been pulling millions of supporters through the gates. We have a huge connection with this ground and in the interests of fairness we would like this addressed as it is no longer acceptable.”
