Tigers to upgrade Punt Rd

Jack Dyer Stand set to go

A $ 60- MILLION Punt Road Oval revamp — boasting an expanded MCG- sized training ground — will force the demolition of the Jack Dyer Stand.

The historic Tigerland grandstand, built in 1914, will make way for new public seating and amenities, female changerooms, community facilities and a function centre – catering for crowds of up to 8000 for AFLW and secondtier men’s matches.

Richmond president Peggy O’Neal said the back- to- back AFL premier had outgrown its spiritual home. “We need to keep evolving as a club and after careful consideration, the board believes this redevelopment will best meet our future needs, that of our fans and the community,” she said.

The Jack Dyer Stand is not heritage listed but has heritage overlay, requiring planning approval for demolition.

The Punt Road Oval masterplan will see the football department take over the current headquarters, opened in 2011, and the construction of new facilities to house the Korin Gamadji Institute, Bachar Houli Foundation and its women’s football program.

Tigers chief executive Brendon Gale said: “As of late last year, we have had to relocate a large chunk of our administration staff into portable offices and long- term that is unsustainable.

“We have gone from one team to five in recent years ( including the club’s wheelchair team) and that has put significant space pressure on both our football program and the broader administration, including some industry leading community programming.”

The Andrews Government will pour $ 15.5 million into the project on top of $ 15 million in funding secured from the Federal Government. Richmond and other key stakeholders will raise the balance.

Gale said the proposed building, to be named the William Cooper Centre after the indigenous activist who died in 1941, would provide:

ELITE- level facilities to support the growth of women’s football;

A FLEXIBLE learning space for the club’s Korin Gamadji Institute programming that empowers Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth; ACCOMMODATION for Melbourne Indigenous Transition School students who complete Year 7 on- site at Richmond Football Club; and A BASE for the Bachar Houli Foundation.