Waverley Park, Public park and cricket field in Mulgrave, Australia.
Waverley Park is a former Australian rules football stadium in Mulgrave, south-east Melbourne, now reduced to its main grandstand and a smaller oval. The grandstand's pale concrete base with sloping cross-bracing and tall window bays carries blue "GATE 7" and "GATE 8" signs and a red "GATE 9" sign at street level, with a dark grey steel framework and angled concrete fins above. The oval, resized to match the MCG, is used for training.
Conceived in 1959 by the twelve VFL clubs, Waverley Park was built on 86 hectares of grazing and market-garden land in Mulgrave, secured in 1962. Construction began in 1965 under architect Reginald E. Padey, and the first match, Fitzroy versus Geelong, was played on 18 April 1970. The main grandstand and oval were listed on the Victorian Heritage Register on 7 September 2000.
The ground was long called VFL Park, after the Victorian Football League that built it, and only later took the name Waverley Park. A mosaic mural installed in 1986 on the grandstand façade above the members' entrance commemorates great names of VFL football, and it survives with the members' stand. The oval is now smaller, matching the dimensions of the MCG, and serves as Hawthorn's training ground.
The ground sits about 26 km south-east of central Melbourne in Mulgrave, and no rail line was ever built to it, so access is by road; the VFL's lobbying for a Glen Waverley extension failed. The surrounding car park became a housing estate of 1,400 lots, so parking is now on local streets. The oval was reduced to MCG dimensions and serves as Hawthorn's training ground.
The members' stand carries a mosaic mural installed in 1986 above the members' entrance, commemorating great names of VFL football. It survived the demolition of the rest of the stadium, and the stand and oval were listed on the Victorian Heritage Register on 7 September 2000.
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