- In short: The last AFL match was played at Waverley Park in 1999 between Hawthorn and Sydney in front of a crowd of 72,130 people.
- The ground was sold to help fund the construction of Docklands Stadium, with surrounding land sold to a housing developer.
- What’s next? The AFL’s plans for a new stadium in Tasmania remain a political football, while The Gabba in Brisbane has missed out on an Olympic-level remodel.
When the final siren sounded in the Round 22 clash between Hawthorn and Sydney in August 1999, fans from all corners of the ground stormed the field.
Not because Tony “Plugger” Lockett had broken another goal-kicking record, or because Dermott Brereton had flattened someone in an all-in brawl.
But because it was their last chance to do so.
The grand old Waverley Park stadium, once destined to become one of the world’s largest sporting arenas, emptied its multi-coloured timber stands for the last time as people flocked to the sodden, muddy turf.
The Hawks prevailed by 85 points that afternoon in front of a sell-out crowd of 72,130.
The Hawks were victorious when the final siren sounded on Waverley Park in 1999. (Getty Images: Stuart Milligan/Allsport)
Plugger kicked four for the losing side, and the ice-cold benches of “Arctic Park” in Melbourne’s outer-east would never see an official AFL match again.
This year marks a quarter of a century since that final siren, but in many ways the lessons of yesteryear remain at the fore in the sporting media landscape.
The AFL is yet again on a mission to build a brand new stadium, this time in Tasmania.
So has the league learned its lesson from the demise of the much lauded “VFL Park”?
Dermott Brereton and Essendon’s Bill Duckworth enjoy a friendly exchange during a match at Waverley Park in 1986.(Getty Images: Tony Feder/Allsport)
Born on a dream
Waverley Park holds many records: among them, it was the first venue to be designed and built specifically for Australian Rules football.
Original plans were for a stadium with a capacity of about 160,000 — which would have made it the second largest in the world.
The master plan was audacious, featuring a motel, indoor sporting grounds, a helipad, and even a lake.
An aerial image of Waverley Park with a VFL match underway.(Supplied: Flikr/Monash City archives via City of Waverley.)
However the dream was never quite realised.
Stadium capacity stalled at just over 100,000 — 72,000 seats plus standing room, amid an ongoing kerfuffle between the VFL (as the AFL was known before 1990), the state government and the Melbourne Cricket Club.
YouTube Angry Anderson at Waverley Park
For all its ignominies, Waverley Park brought its fair share of innovation to the league.
It hosted the VFL’s first elimination final in 1972, the first interstate clash, the first Sunday match, and the league’s first night match — even if the bounce of the ball was delayed by nearly an hour due to a busted fuse.
It hosted World Series Cricket, concerts from the likes of David Bowie and U2, even a Grand Final — the first away from the MCG and the only one featuring a baby blue batmobile.
But despite this, Waverley Park quickly turned hero to whipping boy.
The complaints were endless: it was too cold; the seats too hard; the surface too muddy; the sepia-toned scoreboard — though revolutionary when installed — too dated.
Fans take to the infamously muddy ground after the last AFL match at Waverley in 1999. (Getty Images: Jack Atley/Allsport)
And the less said about the car park, the better.
A mooted train line to the stadium never eventuated, resulting in a migraine-inducting bottleneck from the car park to the freeway after each game.
“The ground is well known for its perceived shortcomings, reflecting the controversies and negative opinions which ultimately prevented the extraordinary stadium design and the wider master-plan being completed,” reads the ground’s Statement of Significance on the National Trust Database.
Waverley Park was a sticking point within political circles for some time. (Getty Images: Stuart Milligan /Allsport)
Urban legend has it that some spectators are still stuck in their cars, searching for a way out.
The cost and controversy
In December 2001, the AFL sold the ground and surrounds to developers Mirvac for a reported $110 million.
Waverley Park’s replacement, Docklands Stadium, was completed 10 years later at a cost of $460 million.
Victorian Premier Steve Bracks has a kick on the ground at the unveiling of the Hawks’ Waverley training and administration headquarters in 2005.(Getty Images: Robert Cianflone)
Having secured outright ownership of Docklands in 2016, the AFL set its sights on its next stadium — this time off the mainland, for the league’s latest addition, the Tasmania Tigers.
But rather than being a boon for footy fans, the proposed stadium has become a political football.
The AFL is steadfast that the stadium will be built as promised, despite concerns about the appropriateness of the spend, location and even the need for a new stadium.
Waverley Park was a neutral venue and used by all Victorian VFL/AFL Football clubs in Mulgrave.(Supplied: Getty Images)
Monash University Department of Economics associate professor, Lionel Frost, said the AFL should learn its lesson from past failings at Waverley.
“The lessons learned [from Waverley Park] are the cost of building stadiums are so high that unless they’re used efficiently it imposes a really heavy burden, economically,” he said.
Mr Frost has crunched the numbers behind such league-owned stadiums as Waverley Park and Adelaide’s Football Park.
He found that while they certainly brought more fans through the gates, the stadiums were not used to their full potential.
“Because it [Waverley Park] was owned by the league, the economic burden was on the VFL and its clubs at a time when a lot of them were in a lot of financial difficulty,” Mr Frost said.
“The Tasmanian stadium’s one that would be owned by the people of Tasmania, so I think it’s imperative that we get this right and that we make sure there’s an asset created that will increase economic activity, that will increase community engagement, and in doing so … create lasting benefits.”
What’s next for Waverley?
The Hawthorn Football Club’s residency at Waverley Park is set to end in the coming years.
The club spent up big on a huge plot of land in Dingley Village, about 20 minutes south-west of their current home, in 2016, with work underway on an expansive new training centre.
The Hawthorn Football Club has had long ties to Waverley Park, including using the ground as a training base. (Getty Images: Kristian Dowling)
It’s expected the build will be completed by the end of next year, however a move-in date remains to be confirmed.
As for what happens when the Hawks fly the nest? That too is unclear.
Monash Mayor Nicky Luo said the council wants to see the oval remain open to the public.
While Hawthorn Football Club chief executive, Ash Klein, said the club was continuing to assess how it will “optimise” the future use of the stadium following the club’s departure.
Meanhwile, the remnants of the stand and its VFL mural are provided some protection by Victorian Heritage Listing.
2024-04-03 19:29:09
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