VFL Park recent pics

easystreet · Post by **easystreet** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 11:15 am

I took a trip down to Melbourne on the weekend and i thought i would go and check out a stadium that i used to see on television all the time in the 80s and 90s....VFL Park.I was shocked how different it looked from what i remembered,the only things that remain are the main grandstand,the players dugouts and the field itself.
I was wondering if anyone had any older pics of VFL Park (other than the ones on austadiums.com).
Here are a few of the shots that i took while i was there.

stadiumking · Post by **stadiumking** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 8:45 pm

I'm not quite sure where I got some of these.....some might be from austadiums, or other random sites from the internet. (let's hope I'm not breaking any copyright rules) Perhaps I shouldn't be posting them here then....oh well.......

These are scanned in by myself from the AFL 1996 History book

Is this on austadiums?

sandyhill · Post by **sandyhill** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 9:18 pm

Thanks for the Waverley pictorial update - shows true dedication to go out there!!.
Notice the distance between the outer fence that I think pretty much marks the original arena area, and the boundary line of the playing area!
Looks like the slope around the ground will at least be retained as a reminder of the stand that surrounded the fround.
Here's one photo I have, though I've posted it before -

I have others at home, including the original plan for the 166,000 capacity monster - but no scanner, alas. EDIT - Doesn't matter now, thanks to SK - he's got it all covered !

Egan · Post by **Egan** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 9:31 pm

I can smell the tears of depression from this side of the country...with all the Waverley forever tragics on this site

Jeffles · Post by **Jeffles** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 10:01 am

Did anyone here ever sit at the very top of the Sir Kenneth Luke Stand? Was it too far back? I'd imagne it being worse than sitting at the back of Telstra Stadium.

yob · Post by **yob** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 10:14 am

Jeffles wrote:Did anyone here ever sit at the very top of the Sir Kenneth Luke Stand? Was it too far back? I'd imagne it being worse than sitting at the back of Telstra Stadium.

Thankfully, that's still one thing you can find out.

easystreet · Post by **easystreet** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 11:34 am

Thanks for the pics guys.After recently seeing how the stadium looks now,its great to see VFL Park in its prime.Its a little sad to see what has become of this icon of the AFL.
Ive added a few more pics that i took last weekend.It was good to see that the big mural has been retained on the back of the grandstand.

Piefan39 · Post by **Piefan39** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 2:24 pm

The remaining grandstand still looks great. Do they play VFL games there?

stadiumking · Post by **stadiumking** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 11:16 pm

I think the KL Stand now looks very graceful - - like an elegant old lady, keeping watch over the ground, or like a grand old hall that has seen its glory days.

sandyhill · Post by **sandyhill** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 5:35 pm

Piefan39 wrote:The remaining grandstand still looks great. ...

Very imposing stand (probably because its so bloody big!) A great example of 1960's 'brutalist' architecture. I love the mural - rapt they kept it.

Piefan39 wrote:.... Do they play VFL games there?

No - not yet, but its always possible for at least some games in the future now that the facilities are in place. Its major use is as the home base and training ground for the Hawthorn FC.

Hawksfaithful · Post by **Hawksfaithful** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 12:40 pm

Piefan39 wrote:The remaining grandstand still looks great. Do they play VFL games there?

Not sure if they can - there is a contract in place with the council that makes it impossible to play NAB/practise games at the venue.

In the long term I reckon the Hawks should look into relocating the Box Hill Hawks to Waverley - if there contract allows them to. That way both squads can train in the same facilities and play on the same field instead of seperate locations - the best affiliates are thoughs that have the closest bonds. It would be a nice touch to see a professional sporting team running around for premiership points on the venue - sort of like watching the Hawks train on Glenferrie leading up to the 2009 Grand Final

Anyone know how the houses are coming along?

easystreet · Post by **easystreet** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 5:42 pm

Anyone know how the houses are coming along?.....

The houses directly behind the granstand look pretty much finished,and there are people already living in them.The other ones in the area are in different stages of completion,but there have been nothing started yet for about 50metres around the ground.

docker · Post by **docker** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 6:24 pm

i don't like the look of VFL park. it looks like the old american football bowls. and the roof doesn't look all that big either.

the ground looks like it is a bloody circle not an oval, (similar to the mcg)

stadiumking wrote:

sandyhill · Post by **sandyhill** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 11:08 am

docker wrote:i don't like the look of VFL park. it looks like the old american football bowls. and the roof doesn't look all that big either.
the ground looks like it is a bloody circle not an oval, (similar to the mcg)

You probably should've used the past tense, but otherwise both are valid points. The arena itself was huge, both the playing surface and the gap from boundary line to fence. The stands were then 'swept back' and most seats were in the open. A high powered telescope was helpful for good viewing. To make matters worse, it was also built up on a 'rain belt' ridge out in the South East, thus it was in about the coldest and wettest (50% more then the 'G) places in the Melbourne metro area.

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