Flemington

Well jumping season at Flemington is over! I’m pleased to say that Cleanevent was not involved in any spectacular falls or mishaps. There was also the running of the Cleanevent Handicap and there weren’t many people on the winner. It paid $52.00 for a win!

I must mention that the staff at Flemington are continuing to do a great job in the absence of Merv "Leyland" Kauiers who continues to travel all over the countryside, on and in boats, helicopters, utes, buses and planes whilst in preparation for the "Big O."

The new grandstand is looking more like a building now with the majority of the glass already in place, but I think they will be pushing it a little for the September 2 opening. I am pleased to announce that our facilities in the new stand will be the best "cleaners" facilities I have seen.

Upcoming events at Flemington include race meetings, frontline, various functions and the Olympic Torch Relay, which is on July 29. Come down and see Bart Cummings carry the torch right up the straight as well as myself doing the riverside leg of the run! They are expecting crowds of 20,000 to 30,000 and the entertainment includes live bands, an aboriginal memorial service, hot food and plenty of cocktail parties. So, in a way we will have been a small part of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

I would like to wish those involved in the Games all the very best of luck and to those of us holding the fort here in Melbourne – "May the force be with you!"

Bye bye

Clear the tracks, the V8’s are coming!

August sees us busy once again with the V8 Supercars coming to Calder Park on the weekend of the 19-20^th. With this event approaching, all staff are gearing themselves up for the excitement of these big V8’s thundering around the track. But before this adrenalin-pumping event arrives, there is a lot of work to be done.

Joanne Bovell, our gardener, is leaving us in mid July to further her career path. This puts a little dampener on the preparation due to her experience at the venue. All the very best in the future Bo Bo, from all of us.

This V8’s kick off the busy season once again, followed by the big one, the Olympics in September, the Melbourne Show, also in September and so on and so on. Where has the off season gone? It seems to be getting shorter and shorter each year.

Well we can’t be sitting here pushing pens around for much longer; there’s work to be done. So, all the best to everyone from here at Calder Park.

Cheers

P.S. The seats in the grandstand won’t be as clean this year as they have been over the past three years without BJ’s butt to clean them! By the way, Peter Bridge is not happy either!

The past two months, traditionally the quietest in the venue has allowed our staff to take a "breather" before we move into a hectic time of the year.

We have just farewelled our favourite show of the year, Disney On Ice. A great effort from both permanent and casual staff ensured the event ran smoothly and was successful for Cleanevent and MOP. Various shows and functions served up to us also kept the venue bubbling.

We now look forward to the arrival of the Olympic Torch and a heap of events which include the Rock Eisteddfod, Supercross, World Championship Wrestling, Youth Alive "Big Event," the Footy Show Grand Final Edition and Grand Final Day which accommodates 6752 corporate guests.

It’s been a bit quiet in the event world over the past two months, but we are gearing up for one of our busy periods. Some of the events coming up include our regular, annual gigs such as the Royal Melbourne Show, the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley, the 500CC bikes down at Phillip Island and the Spring Racing Carnival at Flemington. As well as these major events we still have the grand Final events, the Prime Ministers Olympic Dinner and a few other smaller things going on.

BJ is off to the States again for the US Open Tennis Championships and Andy is going up to Sydney for the greatest event of them all, the Olympics.

So as you can see, we have some huge events in the near future and we are looking forward to working with all you guys and gals who make these events so successful and also make then a lot of fun to work on.

See you all soon.

Hi from the Exhibition Centre!

We’ve had many shows and exhibitions pass through the place in the past which have kept us extremely busy and the recent "Boat Show" was a big one. The "Gone Fishing" sign could easily have been brought out with some of the boats on display. All the staff did a great job, especially Lukey, who really stepped up to the plate.

In closing, I would just like to thank everyone who has worked here over the last month. Your contribution is invaluable.

CARN THE BLUES!

They may have cut back on fixture games at Optus, but the contests we have had have attracted some big crowds, most notably the Carlton V Geelong match, which attracted 31,500 fans. It has been several footy seasons since we have packed the patrons in like sardines at this venue.

The historic match between Carlton and Collingwood saw the attendance at just over 30,000. We anticipated more, but the Magpies are on a losing streak, which may have kept the crowds away. Just as well, considering they were beaten by 111 points.

The mighty Blues have been performing extremely well, having won twelve straight games. However, it was the Western Bulldogs who brought their winning streak to a halt with a thrilling three-point win. This was unfortunately the last home game for the season at Optus Oval. The season was short, but the crowds have been up.

I express my sincere thanks to Debbie Long. She did a marvellous job whilst I was away on tour with the brigade. Keep up the good work.

Oval and out!

Hi from the Valley of Excitement!

The Bus Association function has come and gone for another year. It was a resounding success. Well done to the team ably led by Plucka.

We now turn our attention to the Cox Plate with general maintenance having begun to present the course in great shape.

This month has seen the resignation of Martin Ruffy who has left to pursue other interests. Good luck Marty!

Jim, Kris and Chatty are gearing up for the Olympics. Good luck fellas!

Bye from the Valley for now.

The Melbourne Showgrounds has been fairly busy of late. June has given us the Melbourne University Exams, Melbourne High School Exams and Victoria University Exams, totalling approximately 82,000 students over a three-week period.

July is also shaping up to be fairly busy with the Melbourne Furniture Show, Arms and Militaria Show and a Mini Car Expo. Preparation for the Royal Melbourne Show will also begin in late July.

The grounds and the arena are looking good. The annuals have been planted in preparation for the Show and will look great come September. Well done Conway!

Once again, I take this opportunity to thank Ron Brown, Dennis Batty, Andrew Cirainis and all others who have worked here in recent months.

Happy Birthday to us! Yes, it’s our birthday here at MSAC and we will be celebrating three years. I have it on good authority, that in this time, 4.5 million people have visited the Centre. To celebrate, we are holding an Open Day on July 29 between 10am and 4pm. This promises to be an exciting and entertaining day, so if you’re looking for something to do, come on down and join us!

I am also very proud to say the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre will hold the Fina Swimming World Cup for the next five years. This, no doubt, is the result of the hard work and enormous efforts of Simon Weatherill and his management team. Congratulations MSAC!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jim McCrum, Monica Farrugia and Moustaffa Abbas on their endless efforts and contributions to running the centre in a most professional manner and all the while achieving excellent results.