By RUSSELL BENNETT
THE number 87 in bingo is often referred to as the ‘cricketer’s curse’, but that will soon be a thing of the past at Emerald Sporting Club’s Chandler Reserve.
Cardinia Shire Council will contribute $500,000 to bring the troublesome oval up to scratch.
Emerald Football Club was last week informed about the funding, which has been secured through the council and mayor, Ranges Ward councillor Brett Owen, in the new shire budget.
It couldn’t have come at a better time, as the Bombers have set out on their own money-making path to ease the financial pressure on one of the hills’ favourite sporting clubs.
Each Monday night – throughout both the footy and cricket seasons – at the Paradise Hotel in Clematis, the Bombers are holding bingo nights in the hope that local residents come along to support the club.
Andpeople who make the footy club tick – such as current president Shane Pearton and his predecessor Paul Reilly – are the ones running the show each Monday.
Pearton said the club simply wouldn’t have a long-term future if Chandler Reserve’s oval and clubrooms weren’t upgraded.
The Emerald Sporting Club – which is made up of all the local sporting teams based at the reserve – has so far raised around $175,000 of its $200,000 target to upgrade the Chandler Reserve clubrooms.
Pearton said the footy club had been working for “at least 15 years” on securing enough money to upgrade the playing surface – which was transformed into a boggy cesspit during the height of winter.
“We’re really starting to tick the boxes now,” he said.
“This is vital. It gives us the ability to draw new players and host finals (in Division 1 of the YVMDFL).
“It’s a goldmine for the club.”
Pearton pointed to the Healesville and Woori Yallock football clubs as two of the most financially viable in the league.
Both have their futures secured, even though Healesville was relegated from Division 1 at the end of last season. Pearton doubts Emerald could make it through a similar rough patch unless the $500,000 came through.
But with works on the Chandler Reserve surface to begin by the end of the year, the football club needs to raise money in the short term – to make up for the shortfall in gate takings by having to play its home games elsewhere in 2014.
“We’ve copped a short-term hit,” Pearton said. “We’re definitely not out of the woods. We really need this (bingo) to get up and running.”
Pearton and Reilly can sell up to 300 bingo books on any one Monday night, but two days ago at the Paradise Hotel they only sold a little more than 20. Some of those were to Emerald Football Club players and committee members who turned up to support the cause.
The club is set to urge all its senior players to head up to the hotel next Monday night in an effort to boost the numbers.
Local residents who come along can rub shoulders with their local footy heroes and swap battle stories from that weekend’s game.
Bombers Bingo is held every Monday night from 7.15pm at the Paradise Hotel. All local residents are welcome.
