A video posted on Collingwood’s social media channels showing off their new-look facilities at the Holden Centre has seen the football club cop a barrage of criticism.
The video features Pies defender Jeremy Howe introducing the new facilities, featuring an inside hybrid sports pitch complete with artificial turf and basketball hoops.
“As you can see, the boys are having a hell of a time in here,” Howe says.
However, social media users were quick to point out the issue with the complex – that it had been built over the court once used by Collingwood’s Super Netball side, which was disbanded in 2023 citing financial constraints.
The Magpies’ culling of their netball team was already a point of controversy, given the club was handed a $15 million federal government grant in 2019 to improve facilities for women’s sport.
Given the Pies posted a profit of $7.56 million last financial year, their reporting of a $1 million loss per year for the Super Netball team has also been regarded in some corners as a cost the club could bear.
While it was reported by Fox Sports that the club fully paid for this latest redevelopment, and its AFLW and VFLW sides would also be able to make use of the facilities when their seasons begin, the Pies have been accused of ‘siphon[ing] taxpayer money into one of the wealthiest men’s football operations in Australia.”
“I’m genuinely staggered that Collingwood didn’t consider any kind of social media backlash to their we’ve seized the netball court for the boys post,” wrote women’s football advocate Rebecca Hayne.
“I guess they don’t care or trust a cowed aflm media won’t question a dodgy grant?”
The Pies’ response to the criticism has also come under fire, with the club’s social media account blocking users asking uncomfortable questions and even hiding comments questioning the video.
Macca
Roar Rookie
"if you have a department that’s leaking money then you have to get rid of that department not keep throwing money away" There are plenty of businesses or departments of businesses that have lost money in the early years only to become one of the most important parts of the business later on (how much money is sunk into a mine before it generates an income) - if you believe in the product you invest in it - Collingwood clearly didn't believe in their Netball side once they got the government grant from it.
Steve Mcglashan
Roar Rookie
The club is a business just like like any other business,if you have a department that’s leaking money then you have to get rid of that department not keep throwing money away to not upset people, also I wonder how much money the aflw is costing Collingwood and the AFL for that matter, that’d have to be running at a loss too.
PeteB
Roar Rookie
Unfortunate- there always seems to be one every preseason. Hopefully that is all.
Macca
Roar Rookie
Just saw JSOS will miss the year with a knee injury – looks like we will be playing both Pitto & TDK then. P.S. – The AFL alert on my phone was headed “Big Blue Blow – start forward to miss season with ACL” – very cruel
Peter Georgiades
Roar Rookie
Grants processed is flawed our local Tennis club have put in for grants for lights three times last year and missed out and our lights need replacing as they are 20 years old and one courts don’t work. When I see non for profit organisations like Collingwood get handed money it shows how unfair the process is.
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
I presume it’s a cash loss. As far as year 40 goes, the NPV on something like that would be negligible; if it’s not positive in 10 years forget about it. It’s not like netball is a new “market” anyway; it has to be asked why the government is funding something like this in the first place. There’s certainly no shortage of netball facilities; they’re in every town in the country. On a technical level; I’ve never accounted for grants before, how does it work? Is there “grants income” type of account on the balance sheet that you draw down when you build the asset? It’d be easily if it’s an income but I’m guessing it would need to be quarantined somehow whilst the asset is being built. Or do you just create a payable and treat it as cash?
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
Nope.
PeteB
Roar Rookie
So much opportunity to cut taxes and reduce poverty. We don’t need government funding for elite sports.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
I think you have miss the entire point of this issue by what you just said.
Macca
Roar Rookie
Geelong have a really nice stadium now though, just coincidence there is a really marginal seat there as well.
Macca
Roar Rookie
"The Collingwood football club isn’t a charity," Didn't they make $7.5m even with the netball side of things losing $1m? On that $1m loss I would hazard a guess that close to 40% of the loss would be depreciation on the $15m building they got from the government (assuming the full $15m was spent and they were stuck depreciating it a 2.5% prime cost). And the Pies shouldn't have been looking at what netball cost them in year 4 of its existence, they should have been looking at what it could be making them in year 40.
The Falcon
Roar Rookie
‘Premiership’ filth. :-)
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
True. They should have to pay it back.
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
So what. This division crap just promotes resentment. I’m quite certain that the AFLW are using infrastructure built for men. Maybe the government just builds infrastructure for everyone, given its using taxpayers money, regardless of their appendage.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
grants cannot be used for a different purpose; Collingwood can’t use that money to pay netballers or fund their program. That money is for infrastructure only. Clearly no one on twitter has ever had anything to do with grants. And if they aren't going to use that grant for infrastructure for the women's netball team, which is what it was granted for, than they should not have received grant money.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
Maybe, just maybe… some of that infrastructure built for the women, thanks to the grant, is now being used by the men?
Tufanooo
Roar Rookie
Have a re-read of your first point and you might just see how you've unintentionally argued the case for the opposition.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
Collingwood have the AFL and the whole of the Melbourne media as their PR section.
PeteB
Roar Rookie
The flaw is with our governments consistently handing out unconditional grants to organisations that don’t need them. I want my taxes going to communities and people in need. Not to already wealthy organisations.
Tim Carter
Roar Pro
In this case, the women are not even able to use the men's facilities (not the netballers, anyway). Collingwood are a truly rotten organization.