A HEFTY financial pledge from the Kingston City Council is seemingly paving the way for St Kilda to return to a redeveloped Moorabbin.
The local council voted on Monday night to provide $5 million of financial support for the Saints to re-establish their training and administration base as part of a broader redevelopment at their spiritual home ground.
In May last year, $8 million was pledged by the State Government to refurbish the ground's community reserve.
Now, with the council agreeing to a proposal put forward by St Kilda in February this year, the Saints are closer to leaving Seaford for a revitalised Moorabbin Reserve precinct.
"Kingston City Council has voted in favour of our proposal and we welcome their support," club CEO Matt Finnis told the club's website on Tuesday.
"Last night's decision was an important step forward in restoring our club's presence and involvement with the people of Moorabbin but it's not the finishing line - there are still a number of matters to work through with stakeholders."
The Saints will still need to raise a further $5 million in order to make the move back to the ground, where they played AFL games between 1965 and 1992.
On Wednesday, club president Peter Summers said the council's pledge didn't make the relocation a "fait accompli" and urged supporters to get behind a project that would help alleviate "the grief of leaving Moorabbin" he believes was never fully resolved.
"In my view, the prospect of a return to our Moorabbin heartland would provide a major boost to our great club and allow us to provide training, administration, social and community facilities to secure our future," Summers said in an open letter.
"As someone who grew up watching my beloved Saints compete at Moorabbin for nearly 30 years, I truly appreciate the deep connection between our club and the place we called home for a generation of Saints fans since 1965."
Last month, Finnis said the Saints hadn't closed the door on a move to Junction Oval.
That was then knocked on the head by the new Labor State Government in a recent radio interview.
Premier Daniel Andrews said a commitment had been made to Cricket Victoria to develop Junction into a first-class venue, and the sporting body would not be asked to share.
He told SEN Moorabbin was "probably the logical place" for the Saints to be.
But with the pledge to help the club form a new training and admin base at the ground they left in 2010 after a falling out with the same council over pokie machines, the probability of relocating to Moorabbin is growing.
Finnis said previous plans to upgrade the precinct to house the club's future standalone VFL team, TAC Cup side the Sandringham Dragons, Southern Football Netball League and South Metro Junior Football League would continue.
The aim is for the Saints to finish their current deal with VFL affiliate Sandringham at the end of 2016 and play their standalone team out of Moorabbin from 2017 onwards.
There are also plans for talks with the Frankston City Council about how the Seaford base will be used if they relocate.
Summers said preliminary discussions about the facility remaining a "valuable asset for the Frankston community" had been very encouraging.
They'll also talk about how they can maintain a relationship with the local area after five years of community engagement.
The Saints already train at Moorabbin at least once a week, usually for their final "captain's run" before the game.
They've also promoted family-friendly training sessions at the ground this year and have made an effort to re-engage with their "heartland" with press opportunities in bayside suburbs, including their leadership ground announcement on St Kilda's Acland Street.
