The Bendigo Football Club has informed AFL Victoria that the Club does not intend to apply for a new Victorian Football League licence at the end of the current home and away season.
The decision comes after the Club made financial projections in line with its current business model, and came to the realisation that the costs to be competitive in the competition are unable to be maintained by the club into the future.
AFL Victoria General Manager Grant Williams said while it is disappointing the VFL will no longer have a presence in Bendigo after this season, Chairman Tim Dickson and his staff are to be commended for the time and commitment they have put into the club in recent years to try and produce a viable standalone VFL Club in the region.
“Tim, Aussie Jones and all involved within the Club have done a terrific job in recent years endeavouring to maintain a standalone side in Bendigo, but have found it difficult to remain competitive.
“The decision for Bendigo to not seek a new licence agreement hasn’t been easy for the Board to make, but they believe it is best for all involved that they make this decision now rather than the end of the season to allow all parties involved the ability to plan for 2015.”
Bendigo Chairman Tim Dickson said everything possible had been done to try and secure the future for a VFL Club in Bendigo, but financial forecasts and key stakeholder engagement means the improvement needed to become competitive in the VFL were both areas the Club would struggle to meet and could not ignore.
“We hoped that 2014 would start a rebuilding process which would ultimately deliver a competitive VFL team and a sustainable, successful organisation that would make a major contribution to local football and also to the community.
“AFL Victoria has always supported Bendigo, and the people directly connected with the Club have worked extremely hard, making huge sacrifices to ensure the retention of a VFL team in this city,” Dickson said.
“We knew that becoming a standalone Club after 2012 would pose significant challenges for us but we addressed them in a positive fashion and hoped that some of the key issues that have plagued the Club would be resolved.
“We have made progress in some of these areas, but the increasing demands to be competitive in the VFL are not achievable under the current model.”
Bendigo is committed to playing the year out in the competition and AFL Victoria will support them in doing so, with its final game to be played at home on Friday August 22 at Queen Elizabeth Oval versus Collingwood.
Last Modified on 26/06/2014 22:09