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Waverley Park

The Victorian Football League (VFL) purchased a site in Mulgrave in 1962 after many years of dissatisfaction with 765 the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) Board of Trustees. Originally named VFL Park, the ground had been designed exclusively for Australian Rules football and was opened in 1970. It was renamed Waverley Park after the VFL became the Australian Football League (AFL) in 1990. The VFL intended to play grand finals at Waverley after 1984 but were prevented by the Cain Australian Labor Party Government who ensured that the final remained at the more accessible and more popular MCG. In 1991 an AFL Grand Final was played at Waverley Park during reconstruction of the MCG's Southern Stand. Nicknamed 'Arctic Park', Waverley Park gradually fell out of favour because of its relative inaccessibility to public transport and the fact that it was located in the wettest part of Melbourne. The highest crowd was 92 935 (1981, Hawthorn Football Club versus Collingwood Football Club), and the last game was played on 29 August 1999 between Sydney and Hawthorn. Waverley Park, including the Sir Kenneth Luke Stand and Harold Freedman mural, was listed on the Victorian Heritage Register in 2000, and was purchased from the AFL by property developer Mirvac in 2001.

Dave Nadel