The oval at Chirnside Park will be renamed Avalon Airport Oval in a major sponsorship deal between the airport and VFL club Werribee.
Announcing the partnership today, Werribee Football Club President John Nicol said the deal was initially for three years but both parties see a long term relationship developing.
“The naming of our home ground is something we don’t take lightly so we wanted a corporate partner with a long term future, strong history and values and a name that would be synonymous with the west but be known far and wide. We certainly have achieved that,” he said.
Avalon Airport Chief Executive Justin Giddings said the Werribee Tigers were an ideal fit for the airport. “The Western part of Melbourne is very much a focus for us moving forward. Our research is telling us that more and more people from the western suburbs are choosing to fly from Avalon and we wanted to support that growth by supporting a well-known local organisation. Werribee is a successful club with a proud history and we are looking forward to working with them.’’
Both the club and Avalon Airport reiterated that the Chirnside Park name would remain. The oval will be known as Avalon Airport Oval at Chirnside Park. “Avalon Airport has been around since 1952 but we understand the affinity the community here has with the Chirnside family who were 19th century pioneers in the area. We don’t want to change that. Our real intent is to support the local community whilst reminding the people of Werribee that Australia’s first dedicated low cost airport is just down the road,’’ Mr Giddings said.
Avalon Airport is the major employer along the Melbourne-Geelong corridor with more than 1,200 people working there across a variety of airport and aviation services. Avalon Airport’s data indicates around 20% of employees reside in the Werribee, Hoppers Crossing and Point Cook areas.
Since 2004, nearly 5 million passengers have travelled through Avalon Airport generating hundreds of millions of dollars in new economic activity for Victoria.
Last Modified on 25/02/2010 16:33