Waverley Park facts for kids
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Ricoh Centre
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Exterior of the Sir Kenneth Luke Stand in October 2006.
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| Former names | VFL Park |
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| Address | 2A Stadium Circuit Mulgrave, Victoria Australia |
| Coordinates | 37°55′32″S 145°11′19″E / 37.92556°S 145.18861°E |
| Owner | Mirvac |
| Operator | Hawthorn Football Club |
| Capacity | 6,000 (formerly 72,000) |
| Record attendance | 92,935 – Hawthorn vs Collingwood, 6 June 1981 |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 5 January 1966 |
| Opened | 1970 |
| Renovated | August 2000 – 2006 |
| Construction cost | A$3m (original) |
| Tenants | |
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Waverley Park was a famous Australian rules football stadium in Mulgrave, Victoria, Australia. It was first known as VFL Park. For many years, it was a neutral ground used by all Victorian teams in the VFL/AFL. Later, in the 1990s, it became the home ground for the Hawthorn and St Kilda teams.
The stadium stopped hosting AFL games after the 1999 season when Docklands Stadium opened. Today, Waverley Park is used by the Hawthorn Football Club as a training center. The main grandstand and the oval are important historical sites. The stadium used to hold 72,000 people, but now it has seating for about 6,000.
Contents
Building a New Stadium: Origins
The idea for Waverley Park began in 1959. Twelve VFL clubs asked the league to find land for a new stadium. In 1962, the VFL bought a large piece of land in Mulgrave. This area was chosen because it was expected to become a central part of Melbourne as the city grew. There were also plans for a new freeway nearby.
The first plans were for a huge stadium that could hold up to 157,000 fans. This would have made it one of the biggest stadiums in the world! However, these big plans never fully happened. The government did not approve the upgrades. This was because they wanted to protect the Melbourne Cricket Ground's (MCG) role as the main place for the VFL Grand Final. So, the stadium's capacity was set at about 100,000, and later reduced to 72,000.
The playing field was very large, measuring 200 meters long and 160 meters wide. This was bigger than other fields. So, the boundary lines were changed, and the goals were moved to make the field similar in size to the MCG.
How Waverley Park Was Built
Construction started on January 5, 1966. VFL President Sir Kenneth Luke dug the first bit of soil. Workers dug out a lot of dirt to lower the oval's surface by about 27 feet. This dirt was then used to create banks for some parts of the stadium.
The foundations for the K.G. Luke stand were laid in 1969. On April 18, 1970, Fitzroy and Geelong played the first game at Waverley Park. About 25,887 people watched. At this time, only the first level of the K.G. Luke Stand was finished.
The rest of the stadium's stands were completed in 1974. A large car park was also built, big enough for 25,000 cars. Lights were added in 1977 for night games. In 1982, a video scoreboard was installed, which could show instant replays. This was a first for the VFL! The playing field was re-turfed in 1984, and a mural honoring football legends was added in 1986.
Exciting Moments and Events
Waverley Park saw many exciting moments during its time as a major stadium:
- The first final game played at the ground was in 1972, between St Kilda and Essendon.
- In 1973, a record 60,072 people watched a semi-final game between Carlton and Collingwood.
- The highest attendance ever was 92,935 fans for a game between Collingwood and Hawthorn in 1981.
- In 1977, the first night game for premiership points had a delay. The lights went out just before the game was supposed to start!
- Waverley Park also hosted the first 'Supertest' for Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket in 1977. It was also the first place to host a day-night cricket game.
- The famous band Kiss played a concert there in 1980 for over 40,000 fans.
- In 1991, Waverley Park hosted its only AFL Grand Final. Hawthorn played the West Coast Eagles because the MCG was being renovated. Hawthorn won the game in front of 75,230 people.
- In 1996, during a night game, the lights went out again! This caused a pitch invasion. The game between Essendon and St Kilda had to be finished three days later. The AFL then created new rules for what to do if games are interrupted like this.
Football Records at Waverley Park
In total, 732 AFL/VFL matches were played at Waverley Park. This included 70 finals and one Grand Final.
- Highest score: Fitzroy: 36 goals, 22 behinds (238 points) against Melbourne: 6 goals, 12 behinds (48 points) in 1979.
- Largest crowd: 92,935 people for Hawthorn vs Collingwood on June 6, 1981.
- Most goals in one game: Jason Dunstall scored 17 goals for Hawthorn against Richmond in 1992.
Other Events at the Park
Waverley Park was not just for Australian rules football. It also hosted many other special events:
- Concerts: Famous musicians like Rod Stewart (1979), Kiss (1980), David Bowie (1983), U2 (1998), and Simon & Garfunkel (1983) performed there.
- Cricket: It hosted World Series Cricket games between 1977 and 1979.
- International Rules Football: Matches between Australia and Ireland were played here.
- Baseball: It was the home ground for the Waverley Reds baseball team from 1989 to 1994.
Closing the Stadium
In 1988, problems were found with the concrete at the MCG. This led to a new, modern stand being built there. The AFL helped pay for this new stand, which meant they had less reason to use Waverley Park for big games. By 1993, only Hawthorn and St Kilda were using it as their home ground.
In 1999, the Australian Football League announced that no more AFL games would be played at Waverley Park. They planned to sell the land to help pay for the new Docklands Stadium in Melbourne. The very last official AFL game at Waverley Park was in 1999, between Hawthorn and Sydney. It was a sell-out crowd of 72,130 fans.
After the decision to close, people talked about the stadium's problems. Even though it had a great playing field, its location was not ideal. It was also known as "Arctic Park" because it was often windy and cold. Getting to and from the stadium was also difficult because there was not enough public transport, and the roads got very crowded.
In 2000, some pre-season AFL games and Victorian Football League (VFL) games were still played there. The 2000 VFL Grand Final was the very last official football game at the venue. After that, the stadium was not kept up, and it became damaged.
On December 10, 2001, the AFL confirmed that the land was sold to a housing developer called Mirvac. The stadium began to be demolished on December 11, 2002. Even though it closed, Waverley Park was important. It gave the AFL a strong position when negotiating with the MCG about using their stadium.
Waverley Park Today
After it stopped being used for AFL football, the stadium fell apart. However, people wanted to protect its history. They argued that it was the first major stadium built just for Australian rules football. They also noted that it hosted the 1991 AFL Grand Final and was where night-time cricket games first happened.
Because of this, parts of the stadium were saved. Starting in December 2002, most of the stadium was torn down, but the members' stand and a mural of football legends were kept. The large car park around the stadium has been replaced by new houses. The streets in this new housing area are named after people and things connected to Waverley Park's history.
The oval itself and the remaining part of the members' stand have been rebuilt. They are now a modern training and office facility for the Hawthorn Football Club and the local community. The oval is now the same size as the MCG's playing field. The facility also has a heated swimming pool, ice tanks, a gym, and a running track. The grandstand still has seating for about 2,000 people.
- Waverley Park at Austadiums
- Greg Hobbs, "A Restless Birth," AFL Football Record, Vol 80, No 28, 28 September 1991, pp. 10–11.
