What an incredible day Sunday was.
Our first NBL1 game at our new stadium at Montmorency Secondary College was a momentous event. Enjoyed by a crowd of around 750 people including dozens of Life Members and special guests, it was a truly game changing moment in the Wildcats History.
The day was a great success with the stadium looking absolutely stunning and capped off by a hard fought win by our men’s team that came down to the last minute.
There are many people to thank that made this day possible.
A big thank you to David Wightman and current Assistant Director of Coaching Leighton Lewis who at the beginning of the project did an enormous amount of work doing preliminary research on the practical viability of the project and advocating on its behalf.
To Banyule Council for their support of the project and Deputy Mayor Alison Champion for attending our debut game.
To the current staff at Montmorency Secondary College including Principal Frances Ibbott, Business Manager Lisa Ball, IT Manager Jayden Stenton and Assistant Principal Mark Lohrey – who has personally been very supportive and hands on in setting up the stadium, not just for the schools use, but for the Wildcats too.
To Architects Sean Goodsell and Hayley Franklin, it goes without saying that the place looks amazing, to the builders at Ireland Brown Construction, we are thankful for all the effort that was put in to make such a comprehensive facility.
To the Wildcats staffing team, it was a tremendous effort to make the day happen, a particular shout out to Basketball Operations Manager Jacob Burnham who went above and beyond in ensuring that the Stadium was looking as beautiful as it possibly could and that operations were running smoothly. Also, to Club Founder David Hickman, without him this day would not at be possible and it is his devotion to the club that allowed us to grow into the large Association we are today, where a stadium such as this was needed and deserved.
Finally, to the 3 core drivers of this project – in former Wildcats CEO Greg Jeffers, Eltham State MP Vicki Ward and former Montmorency Secondary Principal Allan Robinson, we are incredibly thankful for your hard work and your vision. Your dedication to the community and your advocacy for this region is un-matched and the Wildcats will be forever grateful. To have this high standard of facility in the North-East, has been a long-time coming and is an incredible achievement of these individuals and the community as a whole.
The Wildcats look forward to being able to welcome more members of the club to the venue over the coming weeks as we increase its use. For those who haven’t seen it yet we suggest coming to Saturdays NBL1 Home games at 6 and 8pm. It will be another big event and a chance to celebrate in what will hopefully some great games against rivals Ringwood Hawks. Tickets on sale now: https://elthamwildcats.nbl1.com.au/pages/nbl1-tickets
