WEST Coast has taken another step towards a new era after announcing the club is moving from Subiaco to a new training facility at Laithlain Park, seven kilometres east of the Perth CBD.
Less than 24 hours after coach John Worsfold ended his 24-year association with the Eagles the club announced it had signed an agreement with the Town of Victoria Park.
The agreement will see West Coast develop a new training base and facility just four kilometres from where the new football stadium is to be built at Burswood for the start of the 2018 AFL season.
Despite Subiaco Oval being the spiritual home of the Eagles, chief executive Trevor Nisbett said it was time to move on.
"The facilities we built here 13 years ago are now probably in the bottom four or five in the competition," Nisbett said.
"We owe it to our players and our members to have facilities that are state of the art.
"Our members have been calling for us to partner with someone to have better facilities for them as well, and we're going to provide that.
"It's probably difficult for a lot of people to get their head around the move.
"Subiaco has been wonderful for footy but footy is moving to Burswood. It is changing. We need to move and grow."
The club plans to build a $50 million facility on the Laithlain Park precinct, which is the home of WAFL club the Perth Demons.
However, the move will not impact the Eagles' playing alignment with WAFL club East Perth.
The facility will include two ovals, one the dimensions of the new WA stadium, the other the size of the MCG. There will also be a synthetic running track around one of the ovals. The Eagles plan to build a state-of-the-art training centre including an indoor training centre, pools, sports science and medical facilities.
The Eagles administration will be housed there alongside upgraded facilities for the Perth Football Club. The David Wirrpanda Foundation will also be based there along with a number of other community facilities that will be available to the public.
Nisbett hoped the club would be there for the start of the 2017 season and the club will be lobbying for funding from the federal and state governments.
Eagles chairman Alan Cransberg believes this is a significant financial commitment.
"This is a massive investment for the club," Cransberg said.
"It's also a massive investment for the state and the town of Vic Park to develop that precinct.
"We've had people on investigation tours overseas to look at what we need to do to build Australia's best training facilities for a club that will hopefully be there for the next 100 years."
