ALMOST 10 months after joining North Melbourne as its chief executive, Eugene Arocca celebrated yet another off-field triumph on Wednesday night when the club was returned to its members.

Arocca, who crossed from a senior management role at Collingwood, has been central to a string of major announcements that have included the redevelopment of the Arden Street facilities, record membership figures and the commitment of sponsors.

He and chairman James Brayshaw are also poised to welcome a sizeable profit for 2008.

But it’s the removal of North’s private ownership that has had the longest gestation and the most critical outcome, given that the continued financial support of the AFL rested heavily on it happening.

North’s decision to knock back a re-location to the Gold Coast was pre-Arocca, but consolidating the club’s future in Melbourne was always his responsibility.

“This is one of those boxes that we had cordoned off to tick a long time ago,” he said on Wednesday night.

“From the day that I started we recognised this was an important KPI – as they call it in the commercial world.

“To finally get to the end of the year and be patient, engage with shareholders, get their support and have a resounding unanimous vote tonight was the culmination of a lot of hard work. We’re pretty happy to have ticked this box at the end of the year.”

Arocca highlighted that his dealings with the shareholders did not require negotiation, and that 16 of those key figures would maintain a strong involvement as patrons.

“It was just a matter of explaining to them our plan, showing our vision,” he said.

“We’ve worked on a three-year plan and I know a lot of the shareholders personally. I’ve known some of them for 10 years.

“They have a real protective feeling towards the club, as they should have, and it has just been a process of education and communication. There was an outstanding and unanimous support from everyone.

“I thoroughly enjoyed the interaction with the shareholders and I know the patrons that we’ve now nominated are going to be a fantastic support to me and to the club.”

For the motion to be passed, approval was required from at least 75 per cent of the members and shareholders present at the extraordinary general meeting.

That was satisfied easily with only one attendee offering resistance, while many others gave a standing ovation to Brayshaw, Arocca and the board once the new structure was declared.