Essendon has vowed to push on with its plan to breathe new life into Windy Hill and to re-establish a connection with its spiritual home.
Much like Collingwood has done with Victoria Park, the Bombers are desperate to maintain a link with its old home ground and they want it to host an AFLW team they continue to campaign for.
Halted last year due to the pandemic, the significant Windy Hill facelift was put back on the public agenda by CEO Xavier Campbell at the club’s season launch.
“In the heartland of Essendon on Napier Street we have a vision for our traditional home at windy Hill,” Campbell said.
“By early next year our ambition is to have a clearly defined position, cost of development plan for the Windy Hill precinct to share with members.
“We are going to provide an industry-leading football precinct, particularly for women’s football, to support our anticipated entry in the AFLW competition.
“We want to appropriately recognise the rich history of Windy Hill as our spiritual home. It’s incredibly important to our members. We want our members and fans to always feel a connection to Windy Hill.”
Campbell said Essendon’s bid to secure an AFLW licence by the end of next year was “something we’re all very passionate about”.
“We are ready for entry into this competition,” he said.
“The EFC vision for the NEC Hanger precinct is to be the training and administration base for our AFL men’s and women’s programs and for Windy Hill to be the home ground for our AFLW games and the vast majority of our VFL men’s and women’s games.”
Campbell also cast an eye towards his club’s Round 1 date with Hawthorn while delivering a little clip for the AFL.
“Next week against our arch-rival Hawthorn we will welcome back Victorian fans for the first time in 18 months. Nothing excites us more than the anticipation of welcoming back the Bomber army to the stands,” he said.
“It’s at Marvel Stadium, but disappointingly not at the MCG and what a missed opportunity by the AFL to not relocate the game to allow a further 25,000 fans to attend.”