Waverley Park (also and originally called VFL Park) is an Australian rules football oval and former large-scale stadium located in the south-east Melbourne suburb of Mulgrave. The first venue to be designed and built specifically for Australian rules football, it served as a neutral stadium for Victorian-based Victorian Football League/Australian Football League (VFL/AFL) clubs upon its opening in 1970. During the 1990s, it became the home ground of both the Hawthorn and St Kilda football clubs.

It ceased to be used for AFL games after the 1999 season following the opening of Docklands Stadium. It was then used as the training and administration base for Hawthorn from 2006 to 2025. The main grandstand and oval, the two remaining aspects of the stadium that have not been demolished, are listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. The seating capacity is now 2,000, down from a peak of 72,000–90,000. The stadium's playing surface, being 200 metres long and 160 metres wide, was the biggest in the league.

In 2026, it was reported that the Melbourne Football Club was considering moving its training and administrative department to Waverley Park an interim basis, before a planned move to a new facility at the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve.

History

Origins

thumb|Waverley Park in the 1990s

Waverley Park (then VFL Park) was first conceived in 1959 when delegates from the 12 VFL clubs asked the league to find land that was suitable for the building of a new stadium. In September 1962, the VFL secured a block of grazing and market garden land in Mulgrave. The area was chosen because it was believed that, with the effects of urban sprawl and the proposed building of the South-Eastern (later called Monash) freeway, the area would become the demographic centre of Melbourne. The VFL lobbied the state government to construct a rail connection to the stadium, but that never occurred. The push for rail to allow transportation to the stadium was still in existence in early to mid 1980s

The original plans were for a stadium catering for up to 157,000 patrons, which would have made it one of the biggest in the world. To accommodate the large number of patrons, the members' stand was to be extended around the whole ground. However, in 1982–1983, when the extensions were due to commence, the Government of Victoria, led by premier John Cain, who was a member of the Melbourne Cricket Club, refused to approve the plans for the upgrade because it would have threatened the Melbourne Cricket Ground's (MCG) right to host the VFL Grand Final. The league-owned VFL Park had originally been built with the intent of replacing the MCG as the permanent home of the grand final, but the Victorian government, with interests in the MCG, refused to allow its capacity upgrade. No further development occurred, and the ground capacity was set at just over 100,000 patrons, later reduced to 72,000.

In 1965, construction started. However, roads were not upgraded, and a rail line never built, which led to persistent transportation problems, inspiring a 1986 song called "Stuck in Waverley Car Park" by Greg Champion.

Waverley allowed Gippsland-based football patrons to attend VFL games, given the shorter travelling distance. Although its relative remoteness was irritating for some, it was a significant multi-purpose venue not based in the environs of the Melbourne CBD. In contrast with more central venues, its reliance on car transport to get spectators to the venue became an obvious weakness. At this point, the stadium was far from completed, with only the first level of the K.G. Luke Stand having been finished. The rest of the stadium had only been constructed to ground level.

The Public Reserve Stands encircling the rest of the stadium were finished in 1974, at a cost of $4.5 million, and the car park was extended to fit a total of 25,000 cars. Lighting was added in May 1977, at a cost of $1.2 million, in time for the first of the televised 1977 night series matches. In 1982, a monochrome video matrix scoreboard was installed, for the first time in VFL history, displaying instant replay highlights. In 1984, the arena was re-turfed and the drainage system upgraded. Two years later, a mosaic mural, commemorating many great names of VFL football, was installed on the grandstand façade above the members' entrance. During the 1988 season, automatic turnstiles were introduced at the members' entrance.

Closure

thumb|230px|Exterior of the Sir Kenneth Luke Stand in October 2006

In 1988, concrete cancer was discovered in the Southern Stand at the MCG. This provided the impetus to replace the 50-year-old stand with a state-of-the-art facility that was completed in 1992 at a cost of $150 million, subsequently named the Great Southern Stand. The new stand was jointly funded by the AFL, allowing the AFL the opportunity to negotiate a better commercial arrangement with the Melbourne Cricket Club. This reduced the AFL's incentive to drive finals and blockbuster games to Waverley Park. The old practice of scheduling 'match of the round' at the ground ended quickly, and by 1993 it was used as a home ground by and .

In 1999, the AFL announced that it would not schedule any further matches at Waverley Park. Instead, it would aim to sell the ground and its surrounding land, hoping to raise a sum of $30 million to $80 million to go towards the construction of a new stadium under construction at Docklands at the western end of the Melbourne central business district. Later, the AFL would also argue that a portion of the income from the sale of Waverley would provide further finance for the development of Australian rules football as a national code in Australia. Victorian Football League games also took place there, including finals and the grand final. The Eastern Football League (EFNL) also played its Division 1 and Division 2 grand finals at the venue at the conclusion of the 2000 season, including the Division 1 grand final on 26 August 2000, which was to be the final night game at the venue..<br />

The 2000 VFL Grand Final was the last game of football involving senior teams played at the venue when Sandringham 15.18 (108) defeated North Ballarat 11.11 (77) in front of a sparse crowd of 8,652 people.

Afterwards, Waverley Park was not maintained, and vandals eventually broke into the site and damaged the facilities. The playing surface, once one of the best in Australia, was reduced to a field of weeds. In mid-2002, Victorian MP Mary Delahunty called on the AFL to mow the dilapidated stadium, as it remained under their control until the plans for the site by housing developer Mirvac (who brought the land off the AFL in late 2001) were approved. once the plans were approved, the ground was demolished starting on 11 December 2002. The grandstand has seating for around 2,000 patrons with the seating in the top level of the grandstand having been retained. In November 2021, Hawthorn renamed its training and administrative facility Bunjil Bagora, a term originating from the Woiwurrung–Taungurung language.

Waverley Park remained in use for occasional Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) matches. A Thirds match between and was played at the ground on 14 April 2024.

In 2018, the Hawthorn Football Club announced plans to build a new training and administration facility named the Kennedy Community Centre in Dingley to replace Waverley Park.

In early 2025, Waverley Park was officially placed on the market for sale, with the Waverley Park Elite Training and Administration Complex, along with the adjoining Goodlife Health Club Gym, valued at around $20 million. In June 2025, the AFL announced it had purchased Waverley Park from the Hawthorn Football Club for an undisclosed sum.

Hawthorn commenced moving from Waverley Park to the Kennedy Community Centre in October 2025, with Hawthorn's AFLW team holding their final training session at the venue on Tuesday 21 October 2025.

Notable events

  • The first-ever final played at the ground was also the first-ever elimination final played in VFL/AFL history, played between St Kilda and Essendon in 1972, with St Kilda prevailing 18.16 (124) to 10.11 (71) in front of a crowd of 52,499.
  • During the 1973 season, 42,610 attended the first interstate match at the ground (between Victoria and Western Australia) and a record 60,072 attended the second semi-final between Carlton and Collingwood, with Carlton prevailing 15.17 (107) to 12.15 (87).
  • Essendon and Carlton contested a once-off match on Anzac Day in 1975 (which Essendon won) in front of a crowd of 77,770.
  • The record attendance was 92,935 for Collingwood versus Hawthorn in 1981, with Hawthorn prevailing 18.19 (127) to 12.9 (81).
  • In 1977, Fitzroy played North Melbourne in the first night match at the stadium in the Amco-Herald Cup. The game started 55 minutes late after the State Electricity Commission's supply to the $1 million lighting system failed just ten minutes before the game was due to begin. A fuse was thought to have blown in the feeder pole to the ground. All power to the ground was turned off for 18 minutes while it was repaired.
  • In 1977, VFL Park played host to the first 'Supertest' of Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket, played between the World Series Cricket Australia XI and the World Series Cricket West Indies XI. It was also host to the first-ever day-night cricket game.
  • In 1978, Fitzroy defeated North Melbourne to win the Night series premiership in front of a crowd of 26,420.
  • On 15 November 1980, the band Kiss played for a crowd of over 40,000 on their first tour of Australia.
  • In 1987, Fitzroy played North Melbourne in the first night match at the stadium for premiership points in the major competition. A total of 183,383 people watched the three finals games at VFL Park and the preliminary final attendance of 71,298 was the largest since 1984. The game was between Melbourne and Hawthorn, and Hawthorn won from a goal kicked after the siren, by Gary Buckenara after a 15-metre penalty was awarded against Jim Stynes.
  • In 1989, VFL Park hosted the first ever Sunday VFL match played for premiership points.
  • The ground hosted its first and only AFL Grand Final in 1991, which was contested by Hawthorn and the West Coast Eagles because the Melbourne Cricket Ground at the time was undergoing construction of the Great Southern Stand. In front of a crowd of 75,230, Hawthorn defeated West Coast by 53 points in the seniors grand final. The same day saw history in the making with Brisbane defeating Melbourne by 34 points in the reserves grand final, and with North Melbourne defeating Collingwood by 38 points in the very last under-19s grand final.
  • In 1996, an unexpected pitch invasion occurred when the lights went out at the stadium in a night game between Essendon and St Kilda during the third quarter due to a car hitting a transmission tower nearby. After declaring the match finished for the evening, the AFL commission held an emergency meeting to decide what should happen, as there was no provision in the official rules for an event like this. They decided to continue the match three days later. Essendon kept their winning position comfortably, starting with a 20-point lead and winning with a 22-point margin. Controversially, the Bombers made five changes to their line-up between the two parts of the match. Prior to the match, St Kilda coach Stan Alves complained about the situation and stated that his team is "not going to go kamikaze" and risk an injury when they did not have much chance of winning. The AFL subsequently decided on a set of rules to be applied for incidents of this kind: if a game is not started, the league in control of the match shall determine the result. Games that start but are interrupted prior to half-time are deemed to be drawn if the game can not recommence within 30 minutes, while, if the game is interrupted after half-time, the scores at the time are deemed to be final.
  • Sunday 7 September 1997 saw Waverley Park host its last-ever AFL finals match, which saw defeat in front of a crowd of 50,035.

Football records

In its history, 732 AFL/VFL matches were played at Waverley Park, 70 of which were finals and one a grand final.

  • Highest score: Fitzroy: 36.22 (238) v Melbourne: 6.12 (48) in round 17, 1979
  • Largest crowd: 92,935, Queen's Birthday (6 June) 1981, Hawthorn v Collingwood
  • Most goals scored in one game: Jason Dunstall, 17 goals, Round 7, 1992, Hawthorn v Richmond

Special events

Waverley Park hosted many special events other than Australian rules football. These included:

  • Rock concerts: Rod Stewart (1979), Kiss (1980), David Bowie (1983), U2 (1998) and Simon & Garfunkel (1983). A 6 December 1993 concert for Michael Jackson's Dangerous World Tour was cancelled after the tour was cut short.
  • Cricket: World Series Cricket games between 1977 and 1979.
  • International rules football: Matches between Australia and Ireland.
  • Baseball: Home of the Waverley Reds from 1989 until 1994.

References

  • Waverley Park Housing Estate official website
  • Ballparks.com
  • Waverly Baseball Club
  • Greg Hobbs, "A Restless Birth," AFL Football Record, Vol 80, No 28, 28 September 1991, pp.&nbsp;10–11.