While speaking at the final Presidents function for the year pre-game on Saturday, Smorgon confirmed the Club had officially signed the lease to allow the club’s Edgewater social club development to go ahead.
"We’ve had some enormous hurdles put in front of us but we know that it was so important for our Club to have its own social venue around the corner from our home base at Whitten Oval," Smorgon said.
"Work will start over the next couple of weeks - and we hope that by the end of 2012 we will have a 650-seat function facility for social club members a bistro and café , 50 hotel rooms - a venue that we will all be proud of."
Smorgon flagged that a significant financial windfall was expected to come off the back of the social venue and the new Whitten Oval Community Sports Hall which will be officially opened at the end of the week.
"The dollars coming in from the new Sports Hall together with the dollars expected from the new social venue will mean in excess of a million dollars a year to the Bulldogs',” Smorgon said.
The longstanding Bulldogs’ President also took the opportunity to review what had been a disappointing season.
"The ladder doesn't lie. We were regarded as a genuine premiership contender, but it turned out to be extremely disappointing,'' Smorgon said.
"We defeated only one club in the top eight, Carlton, and that sums up the season.'' Smorgon also touched on the Club’s difficult decision to not renew Rodney Eade’s contract after seven years and two previous contract renewals.
"The major question was whether Rodney was the man to take the club forward for the next three or four years,'' he said.
"The board decided unanimously that he was not. It was the only decision you could have arrived at after looking over all the facts and figures.
" Some of our members have a different view: that is their prerogative. But we are not going to talk publicly about how we reached the decision - it’s not appropriate and would be unfair to Rodney."
Touching on recent speculation around a potential Board challenge, Smorgon remained positive about the Board’s strength and future.
“The strength of our Club - like any good organisation has been the unity and solidarity around our Board table - we are not going to get distracted by outside noise.
“The Board and the management Team, lead so capably by Simon Garlick will continue to implement our five year plan - we’ll keep focussed on the important issues that face our Club.
"That being said we are delighted that there are so many talented and committed people wanting to join our board. We have a process in place to ensure we get the right people representing the club. We will do what we believe is in the best interests of the Western Bulldogs.''
Smorgon announced the appointment of former Coles Myer CFO Gary Kent as a new board member elect.
“Gary’s a local man, lives in Williamstown and has followed the Club since he was five or six years old. Gary has a very interesting CV, in more recent years he has been the Chief Financial Officer at Coles Myer for a number of years and more recently the CFO at Health Scope,” Smorgon said.
“Gary we welcome you to the Club and we look forward to a very successful time with you around the Board table.”
