With the Wilf Cox Pavilion a construction site until at least August, the club is facing a season of “makeshift” change rooms and a projected $130,000 hit to its bottom line.
Kyabram Football Netball Club president John Guinan said the loss of catering and function hosting — usually held at the pavilion — had put extra emphasis on the community’s support.
“We need the community more than ever this year,” Mr Guinan said.
“We’re going to struggle a bit, so when we do have home games, it’d be great to see the local community come through the gate.”
Game days will also present an entirely different experience for the club and its supporters, as the ongoing upgrades force a complete reorganisation of facilities.
The Bombers’ sides will run out from under the Jack Stone grandstand where makeshift change rooms have been made, while away teams will call the Kyabram Youth Hall home.
This arrangement became possible through generous support from the Youth Hall committee, particularly president Michael Maskell, who stepped forward to share the space with the club throughout its home game season.
Additionally, a new makeshift bar and barbecue have been set up on the western side of the oval with the help of sponsor Cantech Engineering.
Mr Guinan said despite the infrastructure and financial challenges the club faced going into the season, it was support from the sponsors and community groups that had been keeping the club upright.
“When I say everyone's got behind it, it’s everyone in the playing group, our football and netball supporters, sponsors, volunteers — everyone's invested,” Mr Guinan said.
“It's going to be hard, but we've got some good people behind us, so hopefully we can navigate our way through it.”
The construction of the pavilion is slated for completion by the end of the regular season, so there is a sliver of hope, pending upgrades staying on schedule, the club will be using brand-new change rooms by the time finals roll around.
Mr Guinan said it could just be the perfect motivator for the teams to make it past the regular season, as the senior football team seeks to go back-to-back.
But for now, the club is drowning out the buzz of construction by keeping the focus on the start of the season.
“Great people make great clubs, so it's important that we all stick together,” Mr Guinan said.
“We're just going to put our heads down and bums up and just get through and make do with what we have got and make it happen.”
