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IT WON'T be open until late next year, but the redesign of Visy Park (formerly Princes Park) has already had more effect on the Carlton side than its designers could possibly have imagined.
Skipper Chris Judd was lured from the brilliant setup at the West Coast Eagles to the Blues, and said on Wednesday that the proposed new facilities had been part of the bait used get him to his eventual destination.
"They had a lot of flashy pictures about what was allegedly going to happen, and it's great to see that it is going to happen," he said.
"I think it's pretty important – I was saying before that we currently do our recovery in an outdoor pool in the shade with no heating, that sits at about six or seven degrees, and a few of the boys are starting to wonder if they'll ever be able to have children.
"So to be able to get into an indoor pool, and really just have state-of-the-art facilities is a huge thing for the players and something we're all looking forward to."
Judd said the revamp would get the Blues to the same level as the rest of the competition.
"You can't compare what we're using now to what the interstate clubs have, and even pretty much most of the Melbourne clubs now.
"So to come up to speed with the other clubs, and probably even go a step forward, is really exciting."
Coach Brett Ratten is also looking forward to the new digs.
"Well we won't get it for next season so it's more into 2010, but I think it'll be great for our players to have the elite facilities that equals the West Coast and other teams there, so we can really compete with them," he said.
"Hopefully it'll be in our favour to draw some good players to our club.
"We did it on the promise that we were getting a good facility, with Juddy, so hopefully they can come first-hand and have a look at what we are doing."
IT WON'T be open until late next year, but the redesign of Visy Park (formerly Princes Park) has already had more effect on the Carlton side than its designers could possibly have imagined.
Skipper Chris Judd was lured from the brilliant set-up at the West Coast Eagles to the Blues, and said on Wednesday that the proposed new facilities had been part of the bait used get him to his eventual destination.
"They had a lot of flashy pictures about what was allegedly going to happen, and it's great to see that it is going to happen," he said.
"I think it's pretty important – I was saying before that we currently do our recovery in an outdoor pool in the shade with no heating, that sits at about six or seven degrees, and a few of the boys are starting to wonder if they'll ever be able to have children.
"So to be able to get into an indoor pool, and really just have state-of-the-art facilities is a huge thing for the players and something we're all looking forward to."
Judd said the revamp would get the Blues to the same level as the rest of the competition.
"You can't compare what we're using now to what the interstate clubs have, and even pretty much most of the Melbourne clubs now.
"So to come up to speed with the other clubs, and probably even go a step forward, is really exciting."
Coach Brett Ratten is also looking forward to the new digs.
"Well we won't get it for next season so it's more into 2010, but I think it'll be great for our players to have the elite facilities that equals the West Coast and other teams there, so we can really compete with them," he said.
"Hopefully it'll be in our favour to draw some good players to our club.
"We did it on the promise that we were getting a good facility, with Juddy, so hopefully they can come first-hand and have a look at what we are doing."
