As with the whole community, life at the MCC feels like a roller coaster ride in 2021. Just as we started to see all aspects of Club life on a path to returning to normal a couple of months ago, the pandemic showed its teeth again.
The recent lockdown put a halt to sporting events at the MCG, Club functions, special interest groups’ events, operations for the Australian Sports Museum, MCC Library and MCG Tours, and competitive sport for our sporting sections.While we are still coping with significant restrictions on how we operate, it’s pleasing for everyone – members, fans, players, staff and volunteers – that the lockdown was short lived, AFL matches have resumed at the MCG and our other operations continue to work on being back up and running.
Member Subscriptions
A topic that has been constantly discussed by your Committee since the pandemic began has been the effect the various interruptions have meant for you, our members.Many of you will remember that in May last year ahead of the 2020/21 membership season renewal period, I wrote to members to inform them of the Committee’s decision to introduce a range of initiatives to support members, including a 30 per cent subscription reduction.
In particular, I noted that in setting the subscription discount the Committee had recognised the very significant interruption to sporting content and member amenity forecast due to the pandemic, but at the same time had regard to:
- MCC membership is not simply a ‘fee for service’ to attend events at the MCG. The Club belongs to the members and we are all custodians of the Club for the benefit of all current and future members. We must therefore consider the affordability of any subscription discount in the context of the Club’s financial position, both as it stands today and as it may evolve during this crisis.
- The privileges our members enjoy hinge in part on access to the MCG and our obligation to maintain the Ground continues even in the absence of crowds.
Since I communicated this to members last year, your Committee and Club Management have worked tirelessly, responding to the pandemic’s ever-changing situation. We have continued to keep our two important functions at the forefront of our minds; our long-term role as the ground manager of the MCG (which in turn allows us to provide valuable and ongoing benefit to you as members) and the role of running our Club for the benefit of our members (now and into the future).
Pleasingly, the return of sporting content to the ’G during the cricket season and this football season and the cost reduction initiatives we have undertaken have meant the shadow the pandemic cast over our long-term financials has abated. Working in with management, we have engaged our key stakeholders throughout the journey and made difficult but necessary financial decisions. We hope we are over the worst of it, but we can’t be 100 per cent sure of this.
With this background, in setting subscriptions for the upcoming 2021/22 year, we have again sought to balance the future sustainability of the Club and our role as MCG ground manager with the interruption to member amenity experienced during the height of the pandemic.
Accordingly we have determined for the 2021/22 membership season:
- All membership categories will again receive a 30 per cent discount on their subscription for 2021/22. As with last year, the only exception will be our 50-year members, who already benefit from reduced fees.
- After a successful introduction in the 2020/21 membership season, MCCFlexipay, whereby members can pay their membership over three (3) instalments, will remain as a permanent direct debit option.
We anticipate that this will be the last discounted subscription in relation to the impact of the pandemic, as hopefully the move to more normal operations continues both in our community and at our Club.
Members are not required to take any action at this time. Renewal notices for the 2021/22 subscriptions will be issued in the coming weeks.
2021 AFL Finals Series and Grand Final
As we move towards the end of the 2021 AFL Premiership Season, we eagerly look ahead to hosting matches as part of the AFL Finals Series and the Grand Final.Our operations for the Finals, as with AFL home and away matches, will be subject to the Victorian Government’s health requirements and having an approved COVIDSafe Event Plan. We anticipate that this will require the Members’ Reserve to continue being fully ticketed. This is a necessary change to how the Reserve has operated during previous Finals and I appreciate it is a change that some members will find disappointing.
Further information regarding the arrangements for the 2021 AFL Finals Series and Grand Final will be sent to members in the coming weeks.
2021-2026 Melbourne Cricket Club Strategic Plan
Management, in consultation with your Committee, has spent the better part of two years developing the Club’s new five-year strategic plan. This was due to be released in April 2020, however with the uncertainty of the global pandemic on our operations at that time, we decided to halt the new strategic plan’s implementation until we had greater line of sight over the direction of the pandemic.Our purpose, defined within the plan, is to move Australia through the transformative power of live sport, entertainment and culture. We will foster the love of sport by creating unrivalled experiences that inspire and cultivate a sense of connection and belonging. We will do this through our dual role as custodian and manager of the MCG and its precinct, through the development of our outstanding Club, and by preserving the heritage and spirit of the MCG/MCC.
The MCG is an iconic ground, located on sacred and ancient ceremonial land, and is part of the social fabric of Australia. It is a place where experiences are shared across cultures and generations; a place where memories are forged and where sport and ceremony inspire and unite.
Our model is world leading and the fact that MCC members provide the financial support to allow the MCG to be a great community asset sets us apart.
Our focus for our new five-year strategic plan is to demonstrate leadership in all that we do, by building on our history and strong sense of tradition, while continuing to innovate to meet the changing needs of our community stakeholders, fans and members.
Following months of review, I’m pleased to confirm that the Club’s new five-year strategic plan which centres on delivering four key pillars and implementing through the use of three lenses has now commenced. Please click here if you would like to see a diagram that summarises the key themes of the plan.
Kind regards,
Michael Happell
MCC President