They say opportunity knocks, but it North Melbourne's case, it's knocking down the door according to chairman Ben Buckley.
The proposed development of land between Arden St and Macaulay Rd could provide the club with a significant competitive edge. The entire precinct is about to be transformed giving North the chance to expand its base and grow like never before.
"This is one of the largest urban renewal projects ever undertaken in this city," Buckley said.
"It provides a great opportunity for us to embed ourselves in the local area and to take advantage of the significant population increase.
"We've always been an integral part of the community and I think the rebirth of this area as a residential and commercial area will be a great benefit to the club.
"Arden St is our home and will always be our home," he declared
Buckley's passion for North is undeniable and in his second year at the helm, he knows the time is right to capitalise.
"I obviously have a very deep passion for the club, having spent close to 10 years here from the time I was a young player to playing senior footy," he said.
Buckley played 74 games for North between 1986 and 1993.
"This is a family club ... we have extraordinarily passionate supporters.
"... thanks to James (Brayshaw) and the vision and planning of a group of people, we have the foundations for the success we have as a club now."
Re-signing Brad Scott to a contract extension was a key to providing more stability.
"I am not surprised other clubs wanted him. He is an outstanding operator and we take a lot of pride that other (clubs) might want to get our people," Buckley told News Corp.
"You ultimately assess who is the best available person for the role, and Brad was unanimously thought of as the best person.
"What I am excited about is that Brad was genuinely enthusiastic about rebuilding the list. It was one of the things that motivated him into staying.
"We've got a great management team in place, led by (chief executive) Carl Dilena. There is real stability around the place."
On-field, Buckley is realistic but confident about what can be achieved.
"We are all genuinely excited about the future, there is a huge opportunity to create a legacy and that sort of thing doesn't happen overnight," he said.
"We have some outstanding leaders with Jack (Ziebell), Ben (Cunnington), Ben (Brown), Shaun (Higgins), Jamie (Macmillan) and Robbie (Tarrant), and we think our captain (Ziebell) is the epitome of the Shinboner spirit.
"We've got a core group of players coming through who have been around for five or six years and we have got a lot of young talent coming through. While we didn't win as many games as wanted to last year, we were highly competitive.
"My view is the gap between the teams playing finals (last year) and those who didn't has never been closer. The draft concessions that were given to expansion teams have now washed through the system and the salary cap is working effectively. I don't think any team - us included - goes into a season where you don't think you will be super competitive."
