Designs revealed for $65 million Punt Road Oval redevelopment
The Richmond Football Club has unveiled updated designs for the $65m redevelopment of its spiritual home, which includes the construction of a new Jack Dyer Stand.
It means the Tigers’ headquarters will remain in their heartland at Punt Road Oval which they’ve called home for more than 135 years.
As revealed in November last year, the existing grandstand, which was built in 1914, will be demolished to make way for the new facility, while the oval will be expanded.
The AFL had previously deemed the stand unsafe, reducing the ground’s capacity to less than 3,000 for AFLW matches, with spectators unable to occupy the historic structure.
The oval will be realigned and expanded, into the footprint of the existing grandstand, to be the same dimensions as the MCG.
The new Jack Dyer Stand will be built on the club’s current carpark and feature two levels of seating, including some undercover, boosting the ground’s capacity to 8,000.
It’ll also house enhanced facilities for the men’s and women’s teams, offices, function space, underground carparking for 280 vehicles and community spaces for the Bachar Houli Foundation and Richmond’s indigenous programs.
A new “town square” area will also be incorporated into the project, creating an area for Tigers fans to congregate before home games.
Richmond CEO Brendon Gale said the club investigated retaining the Jack Dyer Stand, which the National Trust Victoria say is of “architectural, historic and social significance”, however the current structure is “basically condemned” and the cost of refurbishment is prohibitive.
Bricks from the historic stand will be built into external paths, while the development will stretch into Yarra Park towards where the MCG’s drop-in cricket pitches are situated.
Richmond has secured $30 million of government funding and will ramp up fundraising through the Fighting Tiger Fund to secure the balance, with final planning expected to be finished early next year.
If the project is approved, the club hopes the new facility will be completed in time for the 2024 season, with the Tigers AFLW and VFL teams to play all home games at the venue.
Punt Road Oval has previously been the subject of larger redevelopments, including a 18-25k-seat stadium proposed by the AFL in 2013 and a 40,000-seat stadium in 2016.
