The rise and fall of Waverley Park

It might seem unthinkable today but there were very real plans to move Australian football away from its spiritual home at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and out into the distant suburb of Mulgrave.
Called 'VFL Park', 'Waverley Park' or colloquially as 'Arctic Park', this mammoth building was never fully completed and only lasted a few decades.And with a lack of high-quality public transport, the stadium demonstrated the chaos when a stadium of this size tries to rely almost entirely on cars.
***
MORE INFORMATION
KZbin channel on this topic in more detail: / @historyofwaverleyvflp...
Lots of terrific old footage from Gezza1967 on VFL Park and many other things. Make sure you check out their channel here: / @gezza1967
One of the many forum threads with people's memories: www.bigfooty.com/forum/thread...
More photos and videos here: www.bigfooty.com/forum/thread...
My website: philipmallis.com
Music: CC-BY-SA User: Migfus20 freesound.org/people/Migfus20...
***
SOURCES
philam.github.io/videonotes/w...
***
I acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands on which this video was filmed, the Boonwurrung
people. I pay respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and their extensive and continuing connection to land, water and country.

[@NewFalconerRecords]

Yay! You did the video based on my suggestion. Thanks for the shoutout at the start Philip, and incredible work as always. So much detailed background information, and the best explanation I've ever heard about the proposed rail plans. Yeah, it was never gonna happen. And with so many Victorian Premiers who were MCC members, VFL Park was never going to truly challenge the mighty MCG as the home of football. But for a few years there in the late-70s when it became the only football stadium to have lights, the mid-week night football series was pretty huge. And the Kiss concert in 1980 was a massive event at the time.

[@philipmallis]

You're very welcome, thanks for the suggestion!

[@midyouthcrisis420]

I'm still trying to get out of the car park

[@stevesalkas9128]

Me to and it's coll v carl 22.20 blues 7.8 .late 70s 😂

[@FuManchu5ltr]

I vaguely recall watching matches there as a kid in the early 80’s. I absolutely remember the carpark and Dad’s lack of patience trying to get out of there.

[@luciusverus7697]

😂

[@paulhicks3595]

😅😅😅😅

[@paulhicks3595]

Thanks Phillip, another excellent video. BTW, having a parent living in NSW I was able to get an out of state concession membership for Waverly in 1970. However, after a couple of years of unsatisfactory visits I let it lapse. It was a miserable experience; cold, wet and windy, not to mention the awful sticky red clay car park.

[@rebelliousreptile7336]

You constantly hear in America about how big stadiums sit abandoned or bulldozed after 10s of years. This one though is really amazing, they basically left the field intact, left a portion of the grandstands intact and built around it. This should be set as an example on how to revitalise an area but pay incredible homage to what was.

[@tripsadelica]

It has turned into a very nice estate of quality housing for median to high income families and it is well served with surrounding shopping centres and other facilities. The ground itself is still used for football training and is maintained as a sport field but is open for anyone to use as a general park. The remains of the stadium have been converted into a few restaurants and a health gym.

[@vsvnrg3263]

an albert park horse racecourse was turned into st. vincent place, the centre became st. vincent gardens and upper class houses were built around it.

[@brosnan]

@@tripsadelicalol Mirvac and quality do not belong together, its copy pasted poor quality houses, expensive yes but not good quality

[@jaykay507]

@@brosnan not a huge fan of mirvac personally but I think this is a well developed precinct, especially landscaping is better than most residential subdivisions, you should check it out

[@stewartdavies929]

Seriously? It looks horrendous. Waste of space and an eyesore.

[@HawksFC]

Fantastic video Philip! Thanks for the trip down memory lane :)

[@DailyGhostClips]

Silence intern

[@VMVarga-yf6eg]

Thanks Philip! I grew up in Mulgrave and grew up eating four n twenty pies at VFL Park. We even rode our motorbikes around there and through what is now Wheelers Hill. When I was older I used the car park for cycling and running training. Peak VFL park was the 1980 Kiss concert. We sat on the roof of our house enjoying the music and the cheers from the crowd. Thanks for the memories!

[@aususer415]

Haha! Same! Learnt to drive there and raced push bikes around there. Even watched the RC boat racing on the dam… whilst we tried fishing there!

[@VMVarga-yf6eg]

@@aususer415 Ah yes I was going to mention the RC boats, They were always fantastic and those old buggers running them spent some serious money! I had my brother screaming at me as he "taught" me to drive in an LH Torana Kermit Green G-Pack, haha!!

[@TheMDHoover]

Some of us in the neighbourhood may or may not have got under the cyclone wire fence on the non-members side and snuck into that concert. Was wild for a 7 year old :P

[@TheMDHoover]

@@aususer415How many commodores and falcons did you catch?

[@toddross7507]

I used to work for Monash Council. How Mirvac was allowed to construct the estate like that is just madness. If there was somesort of massive emergency where everyone had to evacuate, they would be stuffed. It would essentially be the same footage of the cars leaving the grounds when footy was played there. Greedy developers trying to cram as many people in as possible. The streets were barely suitable for the MR tipper trucks we drove to get through, I can only imagine if you had to get a removallist in!!

[@SirHarkanVonBeck]

It disappointed me that he didn't bring up the fact that NOBODY wanted the development and the only way it got through was Bracksy and Madden when over the local councils heads to push it through.

[@TheDemocrab]

@@SirHarkanVonBeckOr the blatant corruption involved with killing it off as an option in the first place. As many others have mentioned, the state government had a lot of hands in the MCC who most certainly didn't want the VFL leaving the MCG. On the plus side, it's one of many historic examples of why the Victorian public seems to place a high value on good public transport: We've all heard of at least one example of where PT being lacking was terrible, with Waverley Park being a frequently cited example.

[@wasteland24]

Imagine how fun it is in there for the garbos each week.

[@brosnan]

Mirvac make garbage for maximum profit to the sharholders

[@harryricochet8134]

Fortunately the Monash Council is focussed on the really important issues these days like drag time story show for minors in public libraries.🤮🤮🤮

[@deanstewart27]

Watched my first live VFL game with Dad at Waverley Park as a young lad back in 1974. The mighty Essendon 12.17.89 beat Carlton 12.11.83. Was a great game, still remember the ground like yesterday. Awesome memories. :) 😎🏉🏉

[@user-fb7qu8lu7s]

Nothing “Mighty” about those Drug Cheats from Essendon……….Go Blues.

[@swamistyle]

Not building the train line in the 70s, John Cain stopping the redevelopment in the 80s (as he was an MCC member) & then Wayne Jackson in the 90s selling the stadium for peanuts are to blame for its demise.

[@dannylukic6536]

As a born and bred Sydneysider who lived in Melbourne for five years between 2016-2021 and went to the Park on a couple of separate occasions, I can only imagine how grand this stadium would've been if it had reached completion (and if infrastructure had been built to accommodate it). Great video mate. Shared with my best mate who used to live walking distance from the location. I'm sure he'll get a *kick* out of it 😃

[@philipmallis]

Thank you very much, glad you enjoyed it!

[@edper5850]

As a St.Kilda supporter I remember VFL park very well. We had membership tickets about 3 rows back from the field. I remember being able to smoke in the stadium (if you could light a cigarette in the furious winds) and the cold and windy days of game day. It was also a tremendous drive from Maribyrnong where I lived. Also you had to leave early whether you won or lost to get out of the car park!! That said I enjoyed every moment at Waverley… it was a great ground even if it was situated way too far from Melbourne… argh the good old days 😢

[@harryricochet8134]

For St Kilda supporters in those days leaving early dovetailed so perfectly with their team's weekly performances that you'd never have ever seen a traffic jam lol

[@edper5850]

Ooohhhh Nasty

[@thericesquad]

​@@harryricochet8134don't know if I should laugh or cry. I was s saints member back then. It was on back to Morabbin after the car park battle.

[@Permanent_Vacation]

As hawks fan I used to smoke bungers in my VL with Johnny Platten before he ran out onto the ground. Bro was playing full baked every game! Loved the kick to kick after a game on waverly park and Angry Anderson on grand final day 1991 was a classic.

[@AlexHellene]

lol In the car with John Platten? I find that hard to believe... Bro, you look no more than late 30s?

[@sonycans]

I remember hearing the KISS concert from Waverley park when they toured in the Eighties. I heard the concert from me home in Vermont South.

[@jamesoncroft2980]

My mum lived in Mulgrave at the time and the family sat outside to listen to the concert

[@ivanb52]

Arctic park ... Some excellent archival material there. well done. Back in the 70's, my father was a VFL member there, but didn't want to park his car so I often dropped him off on Wellington Rd, and then pick him up after the game near the Mulgrave Country Club. Also saw some World Series Cricket there when Packer was still at war with the ACB. Entertaining.

[@kerrymattrobertsharris6707]

I loved Arctic Park. Went to countless games there over the years with Dad & my mates, wind, rain, hail or shine. Lots of great memories there ( Angry Anderson, 91 GF ) just one off the top. Pretty sure the Ammos played curtain raiser games before the VFL games in the early Night Series years as well. I wouldn't cross the street to watch a game at Dumplands, footy doesn't need a roof. Cheers for the content.

[@andrewnicon]

This channel is great. I've been in Melbourne for about 10 years but I still don't know that much about the history of the city and these videos are giving me the goods.

[@davidpearn5925]

Don’t expect to learn anything about Melbourne from our Sydney based media.

[@colsutcliffe6337]

not the only other venue, the AFL grand final was held at Brisbane 2020( the GABA) and Perth 2021 Optus stadium

[@Glidus]

you can understand how those years might not be considered “peace time” :p

[@philipmallis]

Thanks you're right! Overlooked that in my research - the source that I used must have been written before 2020.

[@buddyjfrancis320]

@@Glidus hi glindus, big fan. hope you make a waverley reference in your next pisstake. gracias.

[@Glidus]

@@buddyjfrancis320 jon snow being trampled in the big corpse pile during the battle of the bastards is like me dad trying to drive home from waverley park after the 91 grand final

[@pavementpounder7502]

And a few smaller venues in the very early years.

[@470Matty]

Grew up not far from there in the 70's and went to quite a few games there with my Dad. Getting out of the carpark was always a nightmare. It was also colloquially known as Arctic Park, for good reason

[@michaelclark3192]

I still remember going to Waverly park in the 90's a couple's of times as a kid, I think once to see a proper AFL game and another time to see the legends game. I still remember the old wooden seats and old facilities. But what fascinated me was the old scoreboards that also played video replays, but they were in black and white made out of thousands of incandescent light bulbs. It was sort of like steampunk tech now I think of it. I work really close by in wheelers Hill so might have a look at what remains on my way home one night.

[@har234908234]

Black and... amber video scoreboard. Shaped alike the VFL logo with the footy in the V. .

[@paulbilotto2548]

When I was born in 85 the first house we lived in was in Dandenong north and I had a massive veiw of arctic park but the view from my room at the time was incredible when the lights were on It look majestic it reminded me of lighten up stone henge bare in mind I was 3 or 4 years old at them time 😂

[@kontopoulos3107]

Does it have adequate parking it looks all built-up 🚍 🚍

[@xr6lad]

@@kontopoulos3107it was a huge field all round it. Those houses there now WERE built on the car park.

[@Dico6]

Another great video, thanks. I was at that last match in 2000 filming for a security company (Advent Security) who were doing security for the game. As soon as the final siren rang the crowd starting ripping the place to pieces.

[@bustergoldenrod]

Best thing I ever saw at Waverley was U2's Popmart gig. Awesome baked spuds though at that stand on the members' side iirc.

[@djgrahamevans]

I sold merch at that gig, not a huge fan but was great to be there!

[@Mirrorgirl492]

It was a great gig and the car park leaving was a fun finish to the ending with groups of folks singing different U2 songs as we slowly left the area.

[@robvegas9354]

From where i lived in the 80's and 90's you could see VFL park off in the distance. Always looked great when it was lit up at night. And they had the gold Whitmans blimp flying around it many times.

[@xr6lad]

Same. Weeknight game and I could stand on our veranda and see it lit up about 10 kms away.

[@roscozone8092]

I sat on our flat roof in 1980 and ‘experienced’ the Kiss concert…

[@tmmtmm]

I grew up in Wheelers Hill in the 90s and was there when the lights went out. Also remember hearing the U2 concert loud and clear from home

[@melanieb1624]

So many memories of Waverley and going here as a kid. That mosaic mural unlocks them all. I remember the long boring wait to leave the car park after Collingwood games. Mum and Dad learned to stay back and had us collecting cans for pocket money to kill time. Went to the 1996 Lightning Premiership and saw the first ever 3 point poster scored. My friend's dad was the groundskeeper for Waverley in the mid 90s so we'd often go, a group of teenage girls hanging out where the boys were😂. Arctic Park indeed. Bone chilling at times! But i still loved it.

[@roberttruscott6106]

The capacity of VFL Park was never 100k. It was 72k seating, and occasionally they exceeded that with people standing. Most games there attracted about 30 to 35k. Shame this ground had to go, just needed a train station and more covered seating and would have been better than Marvel Stadium.

[@sentimentalbloke185]

Yes, the famous day in 1981 when the crowd was 92,935 for Hawthorn v Collingwood got the league into big trouble with the Health Dept. That was just after they crowded 79326 in for Collingwood v Essendon. The league had to prove they were taking precautions to ensure the ground wasn't over capacity.

[@philipmallis]

Thanks for the comment! The sources that I found stated a capacity of nearly 100,000 which was demonstrated with the record crowd that I mentioned in the video philam.github.io/videonotes/waverleypark

[@stormblessed2673]

@@philipmallisyeah you're correct, AFL counts standing sections in it's capacity numbers. For example, the highest ever attended grand final at the MCG was approx 121k in 1970, mostly due to there being much more standing sections back in those days. For similar reason, I think there was also a non sporting even with 140k a very long time ago (50+ years ago).

[@sentimentalbloke185]

@@stormblessed2673 That was the 1959 Billy Graham evangelical 'crusade' where many of the attendees sat/stood on the playing surface, not a sporting event.

[@merbertancriwalli8622]

In the early 80s my dad took me to learn to drive around the car parks when matches weren't on - the car parks were open. My High School did a little driving instruction and we covered the same routes...

[@purplexs2506]

The fantasy mindset of the VFL in the '60's, that tens of thousands of cars would magically disperse in an orderly and timely manner,, as everyone leaves the ground at pretty much the same time. As I recall, VFL Park was the champion for 3/4 time, and early last qtr departures. I saw the first final there in 1972: a standing room ticket for the outer wing.

[@Donna-C]

VFL Park / Waverley also known as “Arctic Park” was ALWAYS freezing cold mid winter. I remember sitting in the hail on a few different occasions watching Geelong Cats play then spending an endless amount of time trying to leave the car park. No trains between Geelong to Waverley EVER planned

[@marzp9841]

Learning to drive around Waverley.. fishing for redfin..and Kiss !!

[@privateer9116]

I still believe that the competition lost something when most of the Melbourne clubs abandoned their home grounds, despite the financial rewards, and VFL Park was an important part of that project to centralise league control and standardise the 'experience'. But it failed for the reasons you mentioned. It was always a strange venue - it never had as much character as the suburban grounds, and due to the lack of a roof the crowd noise escaped so it killed the atmosphere.

[@johnlacey155]

who could forget the car park - depending on who was driving, leaving that thing diagonally over the bumps and ridges was like being in the Paris/Dakkar rally

[@Nerb1]

I played in the little league at VFL Park. Thanks for the memories.

[@gregwyatt4555]

Went to lots of games there. My son was in a relatively small cohort to play in a Little League game at each of Waverley, MCG and Docklands.

[@HoganNerd]

But what about the greatest Waverley Park mystery! Whatever happened to the giant blue football on top of the electronic scoreboard?

[@1greenMitsi]

just commenting in case there are answers

[@sentimentalbloke185]

Good question. lol My guess is that it ended up as landfill but no one wants to admit to doing that.

[@philipmallis]

Thanks I didn't know about this! Do you have any links to more information about it?

[@TheDemocrab]

I was one of the workers involved in the rehab of the site, unfortunately Andre the Giant was on site and accidentally kicked it over that grouchy old neighbours fence and none of us have had the courage to ask him if we can have it back.

[@ComaDave]

For a Cats fan, heading home after a defeat was quite an odyssey. Once the ordeal of actually getting out of the car park was over; a long long dark drive home awaited. 1980/81 Prelim Final losses both scarred me forever. 🤣 On a brighter note, Saturday Nov. 15th 1980 marked my first ever concert, seeing KISS from right up the back of the very top row of the Kenneth Luke Stand. The "seeing" part depended upon which of us actually had possession of the binoculars at the time. 😵‍💫

[@SnoopReddogg]

Yep... and before Citylink tunnels, everyone going west was funnelled onto the South Eastern and the mother of all choke points near the bridge at Olympic Park. Coming home from Arctic Park was the best part of a 6 hour drive from Warrnambool. It was almost worth leaving early at 3/4 time... in the reserves.

[@Robert-mn8gc]

Waverley Park should never have been Destroyed. Yes there was Car Park Ingress & Egrees . Waverley Park was Never Completed. The Original Plan was a 3 level wrap around Grand Stand .

[@brianandrea3249]

Used to live in Jordanville and never had any trouble getting there. Quick train to Glen Waverley and a bus to the ground would take me half an hour! Coming home was almost as easy, Loved going to Waverley to watch my Sainters!

[@aeduna]

re the power outage - ever since then we've used the phrase "nude up and burn shit" to describe when things are going to hell.

[@pavementpounder7502]

Great history Phil! As a West Australian who only moved here 10 years ago, I never saw a game at Waverley, but from the sounds of things it was a major hassle to get in and especially out of. Its a sign of the shortsighted car dominated era of the mid 20th century that they relied almost entirely on cars. Football Park in Adelaide was similar, a suburban ground dedicated to Aussie rules that was only easily accessible by car.

[@user-zd4li4rd2y]

the problem was that the gov of the time promised to extend a rail/tram line to VFL park and weaselled out of it

[@pavementpounder7502]

@user-zd4li4rd2y even then it wasn't well located, for the long term. Imagine how many people would be on that one line? I get why, the CBD was declining in the 70s and they felt Waverley was central to the East, but still daft to have it so far from the CBD.

[@matthewknowles2607]

Thanks Philip, great memories of footy and WSC at Waverley 👍

[@Taitset]

Great video! This was fascinating, for something so major, I knew virtually nothing about this stadium - In fact I only recently became aware of it when I saw the remains a few weeks ago. Shows what happens when you forget to build a railway. 😉 (Also get ready for cricket fans to yell at you for calling the MCG 'home of football,' I've called it that before and they weren't very happy!)

[@sentimentalbloke185]

The 'C' in MCG stands for cricket.

[@jstudios4072]

Hello taitset

[@Taitset]

@@sentimentalbloke185 Here they come!

[@tommyandrewd]

Some ideas for your next video? Places in Melbourne train lines/ stations should’ve been built. Melbourne Airport Doncaster Waverley Park!!

[@westnblu]

@@tommyandrewd 🤣

[@Repomidnight]

MCG…Conveniently located next to Melbourne’s CBD. Waverly Park..conveniently located next to a donut van- Trevor Marmalade

[@drsiigabb9935]

Quicker to fly Perth to Melbourne, than get out of the Waverley football carpark

[@robertmilroy8506]

For all its issues, when you are young, you are blissfully unaware. From 1975 to the early 90s, this venue was home to some of the best sporting memories of my life. ❤️🖤

[@mikewazowski8368]

I always try to explain this to my mates out around the south east how much we missed out on them revamping Waverley instead of gutting it. Such a shame. Imagine 100,00 plus SEATS followed by more standing. The noise would be sensational.

[@xfg007]

Wish they did revamp it, walking distance for me

[@JordysRailVideos]

7:33 - 7:40, 1 concert was KISS in 1980 (both my mum and Aunt were in attendance for it and was mum's first concert at 13 (same pair took me to see the same band at the 2008 F1 GP at Albert Park when I was 12 (nearly 13 at the time))

[@2009captainpaul]

Same here mate. I was at the Kiss gig aged 14 with my brother who is 12 years older than me and his girlfriend at the time. What a great gig it was at such a great venue.

[@joythought]

Wow, the nostalgia! Thanks. Your channel is brilliant but this one hit the feels for me big time.

[@bryan3550]

Great work, Philip! I was never a VFL fan but used to work in Clayton and went to the All-New WSC cricket which Packer debuted at Waverly. A group of us would leave our cars at work and pile into one vehicle, picking up roast chooks and beer on the way... Great way to spend a balmy summer evening!

[@steved8610]

Thank you for the highly informative video regarding the Waverley Park!

[@Melbournelost66]

I loved Waverley. It was 20 minutes to the ground for us. The carpark improved over the years. Rex Hunt was instrumental in sabotaging the stadiums reputation calling it Arctic Park. The scoreboards were fine, nothing wrong with them. John Cain killed Waverley by protecting the MCGs interests. He was on the MCC board. The line was also canned by John Cain. I went to many games and finals there. The only reason they stopped investing was because of John Cain. We never call an Australian Rules surface a pitch, it's a ground 😊. A terrible mistake pulling it down. The population is now even bigger. Ross Oakley trashed it and sold it off.

[@sentimentalbloke185]

yep, agree with this perspective. People today don't understand the era when Waverley was built: govts never got involved in building stadiums. The MCG was financed by their members, the other suburban grounds were paid for out of footy revenue, sometimes with a little help from local councils. The VFL had to buy the freehold & pay construction costs & later maintenance costs, all out of footy revenue in an era when broadcast rights were bugger all. Then Cain came along and inserted himself & the govt into the dispute between MCC & VFL when he had no right to do so. Replacing it with Docklands only became possible when the Kennett govt did a sweetheart deal to enable the AFL to get ownership of the venue for very little investment, just an agreement to play 46 matches there per season. With a little down-sizing & remodelling Waverley could've been retained as a 3rd Melbourne venue which the competition needs.

[@alexjohnward]

They could have upsized it easily, but it did need a train line.@@sentimentalbloke185

[@maryjanedodo]

So Melbourne has an arena named after a politician who killed a stadium & a pool named after a politician that drowned 🤦🤣

[@har234908234]

@@sentimentalbloke185 I was a bit young at the time but I remember my parents taking shots at Cain for not allowing the Monash fwy (as is now) to be a real freeway. I wish someone did a count on how many Vic MPs were MCC members.

[@Melbournelost66]

​@har234908234 John Cain also bankrupted Victoria, then handballed the leadership to Joan Kirner. Kennett had to make hard decisions to resurrect the state. But Kennett is always portrayed as the bad guy.

[@bjscorpio4041]

I grew up in the outer east and went to many games in the eighties as a kid, I loved the place.

[@michaelfink64]

"It also holds the title of having hosted the only AFL Grand Final outside the MCG in peace time'" - This is only correct if you consider the COVID years to have been wartime, which might be valid.

[@andrewwestcott9172]

Maybe they were just forgettable :)

[@philipmallis]

Thanks you're right! Overlooked that in my research - the source that I used must have been written before 2020.

[@davidnelson7786]

Ahhh, Brisbane……

[@masteryoda498]

Great historical video, I'm from Sydney, and I went to the old VFL park on Anzac Day 1984, it was Collingwood v Carlton (att 70,000), beautiful stadium, cold though.

[@seanprice2990]

Fun fact: I've climbed to the top of every lightower at Waverley (VFL) Park. I grew up across the road and the ground was me and my friend's personal amusement park

[@chanel.coco5]

Great content and interesting history! Another ground suggestion for a future video is of Essendon's Windy Hill oval and you may find some interesting stuff on Essendon's ancient train line + Airport West's 59 tram line 🚎

[@philipmallis]

Thanks! And that's a good idea, I'll add it to the list

[@CRFLAus]

Before Mirvac developed the site I went there and it was so sad to see 8 foot high weeds covering the oval. People used to park in the streets for kilometres around the area back in the day. We'd let friends park on our front lawn and they'd walk to the ground.

[@Water_Rabbit]

The scoreboard had a penchant for self immolation.

[@Haysie-ky6bp]

Went many times from 7yr to 20yr old. Loved it. Despite all the bad press many wanted it to stay. Back when footy was tribal and all the ovals were still going. Services were good. Car park was OK initially. The amount of times a Rowville train was supposed to happen. Seemed like a sensible place to build it. Far more difficult getting to and from the MCG or Docklands from the south-east. Good memories.

[@eatingsound373]

Great video, brings back memories. I remember playing Vic Kick here as a lad in the early 90's. Very cold/wet in the stands.

[@simonwilson4353]

Used to catch the bus from Elwood beach that took us all the way out to the ground. I was only 10 years old. No chance of that happening today. They were the good ole days.

[@campaaronapollo]

I noticed that you cited Waverley/VFL Park's demise being partially attributed to a lack of adequate public transportation to and from the venue. A lot of U.S. sports venues have little or no public transportation serving them and have gigantic parking lots around them.

[@karlhoward2737]

Fascinating video…..the chaos of it all….the total confusion and planning…..a winter sport and no roof…a great concept and maybe in this current time, doable, with better transport, more money with the AFL and tv rights being sold worldwide…..a case of what if and what might have been…….as a very long distant Hawks fan….pleased we still use what’s left of that very innovative idea.. thank you for making these very interesting videos

[@MiniSnooks02]

I did a uni assignment on Waverley Park a few years ago, really interesting. Glad to have found a good video about it!

[@planetX15]

How did the assignment go?

[@MiniSnooks02]

@@planetX15 Pretty well if I remember correctly, one of my few assignments I thoroughly enjoyed learning the topic about

[@planetX15]

@snooksy1523 Anything about Melbourne's (or Australian history in general) is sure to e a fun assignment to do

[@freeman10000]

I watched a match once in Arctic Park in 1988. I remember VFL park to be this massive stadium that sold cold pies. Memories 😊

[@stefantrnacek1394]

How about a video on what is happening at the St Kilda gound in Moorabbin.

[@philipmallis]

Thanks for the suggestion!

[@JamesStaaks8182]

1995 Carl v Fitz coldest day I’ve ever been to the footy I reckon. Just another day at Arctic park.😃

[@johnp2493]

How good was Sticks that day. Kicked 9.6 from memory

[@ShannonRMcKenzie]

Many memories heading out to 'Arctic Park' with my cousins in the 90s to watch my beloved North Melbourne - thanks for the video!

[@deesalkelly3069]

was built on a rain belt - would always rain when you drove pass on the monash

[@RoccondilRinon]

Growing up in a Hawthorn family in the eastern suburbs in the 90s, I have fond (if often cold and wet) memories of Waverley.

[@maryjanedodo]

I just remember it was always freezing cold 🥶❄️

[@rollybear]

Wonderful work Philip.

[@peterread239]

There might of been plans to make VFL park a 150K plus stadium but the rated capacity was never more than 77K and the VFL got into some trouble with OHS when they allowed 92K pack the stadium for that Collingwood Hawthorn match, I attended that game and it was total bedlam with all the aisles crammed solid.

[@peterthomas6486]

Thanks Philip for posting. I went to a couple of premliminary finals in 79, 80 as part of a footy excursion, from Adelaide, namely the Heights High School. about 25 boys and a few fathers, made the overnight bus trip over, from SA, amazing memories, Michael Turner and Ron Wearmouth come to mind.

[@AndyNguyen-sl5gg]

I wished the original Waverley Park plan, with 157,000 seats, were fully realised!

[@har234908234]

I do too... but games with 100,000 empty seats?

[@TheRammMan]

Yep it would’ve happened if Cain wasn’t in the MCC’s pocket.

[@CanUUUDigIt]

I had no idea this park existed and I’ve lived most my life in Melbourne… Great video 👏 already eagerly anticipating the next one

[@stephenwhite506]

In my youth I worked there for ten years mostly directing cars in the carpark. It has to be the second coldest place in Melbourne behind Richmond station. At the end of the day, you had to return the blue coat and sign for your pay. There were many times when this proved very difficult as my hands would almost freeze despite wearing gloves.

[@kenskinner6948]

Great presentation. Thank you.

[@Sykohippy]

I used to do St John ambo's at waverly when I was a kid. This video brought back a lot of old memories. Thank you for that.

[@philipmallis]

Glad you enjoyed it! I used to be a St John volunteer too - not at Waverley Park but many other places

[@Sykohippy]

@@philipmallis Thats really awesome. Thank you heaps for the video. You made me smile when I needed one.

[@Ashman1971]

Thanks for the video. Funny we never had issues getting out of the carpark or onto the Monash, this was the late 90's. Glad that the mighty Hawks still use the site. That promised rail link would've been a massive change to the future of Waverley.

[@robertqld]

Brilliant video! I've always had a few questions rattling around the back of my head about Waverley which you answered! :)

[@bradbarnes8692]

A mate from work took me to a game there just after I migrated from Sydney in 1987. Always watched the Saturday AFL Match of the Day on Sydney TV so was well across it all. We parked and walked straight thru the barrier and up some stairs to get a magnificent view of the stadium. To me, access seemed way too easy. The thing that sticks in my mind was the colour. You just do not get a sense of that on TV. Just before last Christmas I had a meal at The Last Piece in the heritage stand. Walked around the front and the grass surface looks absolutely magic. A bit sad it is not currently used for some level of footy.

[@attilavidacs24]

Worked at this stadium while I was in high school in the late 90s. I still live about 5 minutes away and was there during the last game between the Hawks and Sydney. At the end of the match we all ran onto the field, it was glorious!

[@paulsparks4564]

Saw dozens of games there during the 70s and 80s. We used to park in residential streets a mile away and walk to the ground. Problem was, we hardly ever stayed until the end of a game to avoid the traffic. Another issue was if you sat close to ground level, there was a very visible hump (probably to assist with drainage) so it meant you could only see half of the players' bodies when they were on the opposite side. The main scoreboard would become an issue when the sun shone on it making it illegible at certain angles. Its atmosphere was lessened due to its vast openness, meaning that even if there were 60k fans, the sound was rather muted. Cold, wet and usually windy, I have lots of fond memories of Waverley Park. "Drinks, lollies, chocolates and potato chips!"

[@andrewjlow]

Thanks, Phillip! I've always wondered about it. I'll pop over one day to have a look! :)

[@mattbowd]

Fascinating! Even as a non-AFL fan this is quite the story. Impressed with the housing development too!

[@TBoneTony]

Waverly Park was perhaps the symbol of the VFL of their day and how the AFL during the late 90s slowly abandoned the stadium in order to get the Docklands developed.

[@huntz3215]

I remember the car park chaos as a kid, the rail would have made a big improvement.

[@JamesJansson]

At 1:55 that's a shot of Circular Quay with the Cahill Expressway leading to the Harbour Bridge. Almost all those buildings are gone, some many times over. In fact that hole in the ground is where they recently knocked down a 26 storey building to build the new Salesforce tower.

[@lukeo5908]

Great video! Would love to have seen more about the monochrome video screen / jumbotron in the big V, but maybe that's something that could be looked at in a future video? In any case, I've really enjoyed your recent content Philip. Keep it coming!

[@joeyjoejoejunior3859]

Yes. I still remember the animation of the umpires coming out and being pelted with tomatoes (I think it was tomatoes?) on the scoreboard.

[@har234908234]

@@joeyjoejoejunior3859 What? I don't remember that... as encouragement to the fans?!

[@joeyjoejoejunior3859]

Hard to describe an animation, but it had an umpire reluctantly emerging from the corner of the screen, then tomatoes (?) being thrown at him (I don't think they actually hit him), then he walks out confidently, smiling and... I think... he then did a self-clasping handshake (I had to Google it to work out what the gesture is called). Of course, this is around 40 years ago, so I may have some details wrong, but I'm positive it was played at every game when the umpires walked out onto the ground. I went to a lot of games there throughout the '80s, but I seem to think it was played in the early-to-mid '80s. It was meant to be tongue in cheek. Somebody must remember it, surely? I'm reasonably sure I'm not bonkers. @@har234908234

[@marksatoshi405]

Great reminder of Waverley Park. I went to a couple of the games in the late 70's. It was a horrible ground that lacked character and on a wet gusty day , the wind would swirl around the ground. You had no where to take cover. I think there was accoustic issues as well. Went to concert there. Thanks for the memories.

[@user-lr1ux1kv9n]

I love your content. Amazing things you teach us

[@michaelrapson]

Ah Waverley. I remember it so well. Much like the arts centre spire that was originally meant to be taller than the Eifel tower.

[@Mabus16]

The grand Victorian tradition of overpromising and underdelivering. Remember when Bruno Grollo was going to build the tallest building in the world here in Melbourne?

[@emdB67]

I lived in Noble Park North during 1979 = 1980 and my bedroom was lit up by VFL Park's floodlights when a night match was on. I also remember the legendary traffic jams and sometimes Dad and I would walk to the corner of Jacksons and Police Road to watch the 'action'. At that time there was an ordinary set of traffic signals with green and amber arrows only for the west to north and north to west turns. There were usually police on duty at the intersection. Dad avoided travel, if at all possible in the area when a major match was on. We never attended a match and to this day I've never actually gone into the grounds. I suppose I should next time I'm down that way. 😊

[@timothyjoyce9554]

What a great facility vfl park was and still would be if the government and others have de coded to put a rail line down north and Wellington roads. It was totally ignored by the league and now leaves no ground or team in the south east of Melbourne. Disgrace.

[@CityWalks3216]

Freezing out there I remember & that carpark hectic as that place a lot of people partied on in the carpark for a while the memories 😊

[@moe_1886]

Carn the Hawks! Oh the memories of Arctic Park with every part of my body frozen & soaked, then waiting in line at halftime for a smoking hot pie, to then burn my mouth and watch the Hawks lose! 😭 But worse was to come... getting out of the mud bath of a car park! 🤣😂

[@bafg182]

A timely subject with all the uncertainty about stadiums for the Brisbane Olympics

[@johnatvillageadvisory9383]

The vfl dream was predicated on building a ground where the population centre of melbourne would be in the 1980s. The great urban sprawl was in its favour. However, other factors intervened, some already mentioned, ie no train line. The others included a Health Dept cap on crowd numbers set at 75,000. And when the competition went national the time and distance from airport to ground was unacceptable to the four, then six interstate teams. Hence Docklands stadium.

[@scottietheshark]

Fascinating story, even for this mad NRL fan. The interesting thing is around the same time as the Waverley plans came out, there were plans to turn the St Peters brickpits into a big rugby league stadium. Unlike Waverley nothing came of it and it became Sydney Park.

[@umbrella_lemming5766]

As a kid, my dad's girlfriend was a member of the Hawthorn cheer squad.... I remember the save Waverly group as well as those being against the merger of Melbourne and Hawthorn.... Meeting the likes of Dunstall and Platten, helping build the banners and running out onto the ground for a kick after the game.... Then the long wait to get out, the scarfs out the windows, the tootings if jubilation or frustration and the freezing my butt off at Bayswater Macca's whilst the adults smoked and drank filtered coffee outside... If I wasn't interested in the game, you could walk around the whole stadium (or at least it felt like it).... The crys of "Hot pies, Cold Beer, Chocolate bars!!!" From the servers walking around the stands.... Sitting on the picnic blankets on the wooden seats, triple m on the radio if you couldn't spot what was going on over the other side of the ground...... Simpler times and fond memories.

[@davidlogan6139]

Loved Waverley. Mum would drop us off at the servo at the corner of Police and Jacksons, then we’d walk up, and she’d come back later to get us. I was also at the blackout game. As a 13 year old it was the craziest thing that had ever happened.