Hawthorn Football Club is pleased to announce its intention to purchase land in Dingley which will become home to the club’s new world-class training and administration centre.

The 28-hectare site is located on Tootal Road.

After an extensive 18-month due diligence process, Hawthorn CEO Stuart Fox confirmed the club’s intention to purchase the site at tonight’s AGM.

“This is an exciting announcement for the club and a key step forward in our vision to be the ultimate destination club,” Fox said.

“In May last year we placed a conditional offer to purchase the land. Since then we have had 18-months to conduct due diligence of the sites’ suitability as a long-term base, before making a final decision to proceed with the purchase.

“The due diligence process was extremely comprehensive and included seven different stages encompassing thorough environmental and planning assessments.

“Only 23km from the city, we believe the Dingley site will be the ultimate destination for players, coaches, staff, members, fans and the community.

“The 7.75 million dollar cost to purchase the land will be majority funded by the Hawthorn Football Club Foundation and we would like to thank those donors who have given so generously.

“We now have a real opportunity to build a training and administration facility that is ours to own and will allow our players and staff to continue to thrive and grow. Our vision is that this facility will also bring the club, its members, fans and the community even closer together.

“The next 18 to 24 months will be crucial in terms of securing funding to support this project.

“We are realistic about the financial challenges we will need to overcome before our vision of a world-class facility becomes a reality, and as such we have taken a long-term view.

“We understand this is the largest project the club has ever undertaken and we envisage it will take at least five to ten years to deliver.”

The next step for the club will be to finalise its architectural plans and implement a funding strategy to support its vision for the site.

*The artist images included in this article are only indicative of what the future facility may look like.