Sydney Swans chairman Andrew Pridham has told the Club’s Annual General Meeting that 2018 will be remembered as a “highly significant” one in the Swans’ rich history, because it marked the year that Sydney secured its future home.

The Sydney Swans will this year embark on repurposing Moore Park’s Royal Hall of Industries, which will become the Sydney Swans HQ and Community Centre.

Pridham said the new facilities will take the club into the future.

“In 2018 we secured a 27-year lease of the Royal Hall of Industries, located a short stroll from here along Driver Avenue, which will be an iconic facility in our iconic city,” Pridham said.

“The cost of the refurbishment of the RHI will be in the order of $55 million. The building will also serve as a home for the NSW Swifts, the QBE Sydney Swans Academy, the headquarters for the GO Foundation and the Clontarf Foundation, and house other community services, including an Australian Red Cross Blood Bank.

“Looking to the future, the RHI development is an important stepping stone to the Sydney Swans entering a team in the AFLW competition.”

The AGM also heard that the Sydney Swans posted a profit for the eighth consecutive year and membership grew by more than 3.5 percent to a record 60,934 members.

Pridham thanked Sydney’s long-time Principal Partner QBE, Major Partners Citi and Volkswagen, and the Club’s other sponsors. He also

paid tribute to retired CEO Andrew Ireland, whom he described as “a loyal servant of our football club since 2003” and welcomed Tom Harley as Sydney’s new Chief Executive.