Click here to watch club president Eddie McGuire announce the new partnership

Collingwood & Westpac announce new five-year major community partnership

The Lexus Centre was today renamed the Westpac Centre as Westpac and the Collingwood Football Club announced a new and unique five-year partnership believed to be the biggest community based sponsorship in the history of Australian sport.

Westpac has become the Major Community Partner of the Collingwood Football Club and together with the club will launch a series of community based programs around Victoria.

The partnership will combine programs and activities in regional Victoria and across Collingwood's three main venues; the Westpac Centre, the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the club's traditional home at Victoria Park. It will also introduce a range of new initiatives including the Westpac Community Cup, the Westpac Community Bays Program and direct support for Collingwood's new community activities at Victoria Park.

Westpac also becomes the naming rights partner to the Magpies' famous administration and training facilities at Olympic Park, to be known as the 'Westpac Centre'. The centre was originally built as the swimming venue for the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games and retains an important place in Melbourne's rich sporting culture.

Collingwood and Westpac will develop further the elite training facilities at the Westpac Centre, create programs for community groups, clubs and schools promoting healthy and active lifestyles and host a series of new events and activities at the new training oval.

Westpac's State General Manager in Victoria, David Hyde, said, “We have shared vision and true partnership with the Collingwood Football Club which is really exciting and we are both passionate about making a real difference in the Victorian community.”

Collingwood President Eddie McGuire said, “Today's announcement is one of the most significant in the history of our football club. This is not just a traditional naming rights sponsorship. This is a true partnership between two iconic Australian organisations dedicated to delivering and supporting a range of community programs and providing significant benefits to the Victorian community.

“Collingwood was born during the depression years and thrived against all odds through a policy of community support and inclusion, backed by tremendous on-field success. This partnership will allow our club to honour that history and to develop an even greater contribution to social programs and activities throughout Victoria.”

The partnership is a major boost to the next stage in the redevelopment of Collingwood's facilities at the Westpac Centre and the club's new training complex in the Olympic Park precinct.

Mr McGuire added: “Together with Westpac we will ensure that we provide an elite training environment for our players and coaches at the Westpac Centre and the new training oval. Our vision is for the Westpac Centre to become a destination within the world's leading sports precinct that provides opportunities for a range of education and access programs, events and activities.”

A major highlight in each year of the partnership will be the Westpac Community Cup which will be awarded annually at a Collingwood match and dedicated to a selected cause. In 2010 the Westpac Community Cup will be held for the Country Fire Authority as part of the activities of the Collingwood v Adelaide Crows match at the MCG in Round 21. Both clubs will work with Westpac and the CFA to use the game to recognise and pay tribute to the 60,000 volunteer fire-fighters in Victoria, to raise significant funds and acknowledge the victims of bushfires.

Westpac will also become a major partner in Collingwood's community programs at Victoria Park. Collingwood recently reached an agreement with the City of Yarra to return to Victoria Park to play VFL matches and to host community programs in and around the City of Yarra.

Westpac has a long history of working with the community in Victoria since it opened its doors in the state over 150 years ago. From its support of the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter to the recently announced Westpac Fire Watch plane with the CFA to the community support role of organisations such as the Salvation Army and the Smith Family. Which is all part of Westpac's more local approach to the way it runs its business and support of the things that matter in the communities they are a part of.