Waverley Park on the market as Hawks prepare for Dingley move
The home of the Hawthorn Football Club is officially up for sale, with an asking price of $20 million, as the AFL club prepares to move to its new headquarters in Dingley later this year.
Waverley Park once boasted a 72,000-seat capacity and hosted its last official AFL game in 1999, before it was transformed into an elite training and administration facility for the Hawks, who moved from Glenferrie Oval to the Mulgrave site in 2006.
Listed by Colliers, the sale includes the training and administrative hub within the heritage-listed Sir Kenneth Luke Stand which overlooks the oval and the adjoining Goodlife Gym, but not the actual oval itself.
The City of Monash has previously confirmed the oval is part of the Victorian Government’s master planning for the Waverley Park Estate and is expected to remain as a sports oval once the Hawks exit the venue.
Waverley Park hosted 732 AFL/VFL games including the 1991 AFL Grand Final, as well as cricket and concerts, but was often criticised for its location and lack of public transport.
In what’s turned out to be a masterstroke by the Hawks, the club negotiated a $1 purchase of the facility to receive the freehold of the grandstand and oval, with Mirvac requiring a club to occupy the oval as it developed the land around it as a housing estate.
Hawthorn Chief Operating Officer Jacob Attwood said, “Waverley Park has been a great home for our football club and has served the club very well.
“As the club prepares for our imminent relocation to our new facility at Dingley, it is the right time to explore what the future for the current training and administration facility looks like.”
The AFL club expects to move into its new $100 million Kennedy Community Centre at Dingley around the end of the 2025 season. The Hawks will become the only AFL club to own its training and administration headquarters.
As for the future of Waverley Park, the Herald Sun has reported that NRL powerhouse Melbourne Storm has emerged as a key potential suitor, while the AFL is also open to buying back the venue to use it as a permanent base for its umpires or a hub for women’s or pathway football.
Waverley Park will officially be on the market from Tuesday 25 February until Thursday 3 April through Colliers.
