WAVERLEY Park is back in the AFL's hands again, after the League completed a deal to buy the venue from Hawthorn ahead of the Hawks' planned move to their new Dingley training base.
The AFL is yet to confirm its plans for the historic, heritage-listed building and the training oval but CEO Andrew Dillon said the purchase of the ground would assist with "talent pathways programs, community footy, and umpire development and programs".
Waverley Park was the first sporting field built specifically for Australian football, and hosted a total of 732 VFL/AFL games from 1970 to 1999, including 70 finals and the 1991 AFL Grand Final between Hawthorn and West Coast.
“Waverley Park has had a long history in footy, being the first venue to be designed and built specifically for Australian rules football," Dillon said.
“The purchase of the ground and facilities is a rare and timely solution that will help with our talent pathways programs, community footy, and umpire development and programs, all of which will now be worked through with the relevant stakeholders.
“The AFL has targeted having 10 million attendees at AFL/AFLW games, events, and festivals, two million AFL club members and one million participants and in order to achieve the target for participation we need two ovals a week every week for the next five years.
“We are always looking for greenspace so we can continue to expand the playing fields we need to accommodate the strong national growth in people playing our game.
“I would like to thank AFL EGM Matthew Chun, Hawthorn CEO Ash Klein and COO Jacob Attwood and the team at Colliers for facilitating this deal that keeps an iconic footy venue in our ecosystem.”
One of the most memorable moments at the ground came in 1996, when the round 10 game between Essendon and St Kilda was interrupted by a blackout in the third quarter. Fans leapt the fences and anarchy ensued, with fires being lit on the ground and point posts ripped out of the ground. The game was completed the following Tuesday, with Essendon winning by 22 points.
The venue also hosted several music concerts including KISS (1980), David Bowie (1983), Simon and Garfunkel (1983) and U2 (1998), as well as World Series Cricket matches from 1977 to 1979.
After the demolition of much of the stadium following the VFL Grand Final in 2000, the Hawks redeveloped the interior of the heritage-listed Sir Kenneth Luke Stand into their training and administration base.
Waverley was the Hawks' home throughout their powerful era under Alastair Clarkson, when they claimed premierships in 2008, '13, '14 and '15.
The Hawks have been planning an expanded home venue for more than a decade, and will move into the $100 million Kennedy Community Centre in Dingley later this year.
"With the facility changing hands to the AFL, we are confident that its historical significance of Waverley Park will be preserved," Hawthorn chief operating officer Jacob Attwood said.
"Looking forward for our club, the sale of this facility puts us in a very strong position to make the move to the Kennedy Community Centre later this year."
