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What a waste of money, hope Seaford gets used by a good club
The old suburban VFL/AFL grounds
- Thread starter Stewies Power
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What a waste of money, hope Seaford gets used by a good club
The Huggins Stand at Moorabbin was beyond repair. The fault of previous St Kilda administrations, not this one.
Did not even recognise Arden Street when saw some highlights of pre-season games there.
What happened ? There is nothing left but an oval now.
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I think when things burned down there, then there was no hope of retaining the past.
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Didn't someone burn down the grandstand there or something?
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The old betting ring from the days there was a greyhound track there burned down in the early/mid 00s. The grandstand stood until the redevelopment, it was just so rotted they had to knock it down.
Never knew there was a greyhound track there. When were Dog races run there ?
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It’s like a lot of the older club grounds unfortunately. I went out and did a bit of a tour of them all several years after making a trip a rare to Melbourne it was pretty sad and disappointing. The grounds have so much history and tradition. Arden street and Morabbin there is next to nothing left of. Windy Hill & Victoria Park what was left looked like was still care for and princess park was just sad and seemed a total waste of a venue.
The legends stand was bearly even used despite it a almost bankrupt the blues and where the new administration and gym buildings were built at the other end of the venue, something I couldn’t work out the logic in as it would only put a dent in the potential of the venue to be used again by any serious competition again
Excellent. Learn something new every day.
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The sparseness of printed and internet history about our football grounds apart from Santo Caruso's book and from various obscure club histories, or whenever they see fit to print stuff on their website is pretty sad. I reckon as a bigfooty community we'd be able to piece things together pretty well. There's enough of us interested.
Old Shinboner
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Agreed. I have tried newspaper archives as well but very few photos of old league grounds.
When Victoria Park, Western Oval and Princes Park were used for the final time there was significant fanfare around each.
However, grounds like Windy Hill, Arden Street, Lake Oval and Junction Oval just vanished from the league scene in the 1980s/early 90s with apparently little fanfare at all, and there are few photos I have seen of each of these grounds in all their glory. Its a shame.
There was a great book which I have seen...Doug Wade's match of the Day which was produced in the early 1980s with overhead photos of all league grounds. The quality of some photos wasn't great, but I would love to know where to access the original photos!
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I think Waverley had a good send off, not sure about Whitten/Western Oval. They replayed the last game from there on Fox Footy recently and the commentators were saying that it may be the last game there(they weren’t sure if it was or wasn’t going to even be the last game at the time)
Derby103
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VFL Park and Footscray both had massive build ups to their last games. As did Collingwood and Carlton. In contrast, the last game at North Melbourne was a very low-key affair, despite everyone knowing that it would be the last match there. North beat Richmond in front of a tiny crowd. I remember going on to the ground afterwards and being part of a group that was collecting souvenir Arden Street mud from the final day. Don't know where my mud got to. South Melbourne was my favourite league ground. I don't think that anyone knew that round 22 1981 was going to be the last match there, although I think there were Sydney rumours swirling around at the time.
A lot of footy supporters don't seem to place much importance on the abandonment of suburban grounds, but it is the aspect of the game that I miss the most. I had the good fortune to visit them all apart from Hawthorn, Richmond and Fitzroy. I'll rank them in descending order of my favourite to least-favourite:
Lake Oval - great old grandstands and pressbox. Good views over the palm trees to the lake. Interesting pedestrian tunnel in the outer. Utilitarian scoreboard. Terrific atmosphere. Surface was very good in dry weather but inclined to be very muddy in winter. Favourite memory is of taking an old red Tait train down from Flinders Street to Albert Park to see South play St.Kilda in bright sunshine on the Anzac Day weekend of 1980. John Roberts took the mark of the year that day. The only other game I saw there was in 1976 when Keith Greig took the mark of that year.
Junction Oval - saw a lot of Fitzroy games and a lot of VFA finals here. Wonderful grandstands, two of which are still around today. There was a lovely old wooden stand at the northern end. Excellent scoreboard, which is the only VFL scoreboard that still stands today. The best surface in the league. Favourite memory is of Port coming from a mile behind to knock off Coburg in the 1980 grand final.
Arden Street - I am biased, but I loved the smell and atmosphere of Arden Street. It wasn't pretty, but North Melbourne was a gritty industrial suburb in the '70s and '80s and the ground reflected that. Memories of Arden Street: Kevin Bartlett missing a late shot for goal in 1977 that would have cost North the double chance and the flag if it had gone through; Blight levelling the scores in deep mud against Hawthorn in '77, being given another kick after the siren only to miss and lose the game; beating Carlton by 111 points in '83; David Twomey's run for Collingwood in 1981.
MCG (the pre-1992 version) - it is a different ground now, of course. Loved the look of the old three-tier Northern Stand. The ancient and crumbling Southern Stand was a great place to watch the game. Best scoreboard in the business.
Western Oval - I liked Footscray. It had a similar feel to Arden St in some ways. Unusual shaped ground. Decent stands, the covered outer was a good place to watch the game from. Also, we always used to win there. And they played there for years longer than some of the other grounds, so I got to see a lot of games here in the '90s because I knew that it was all coming to an end. Favourite memories - round 1 1978 was a great day. Carey's game here in 1993 was one of the best individual performances I ever saw.
Windy Hill - quite an intimidating ground for an opposition follower (as was Victoria Park). Smallish playing area, impressive tallish grandstands around the north-western side. Interesting scoreboard, good terracing, the outer was usually packed. The school and palm trees behind the eastern goal. Favourite memories - Glendinning's shirtfront on Duckworth in 1986 was brutal. We could see him line up the Essendon player from 15 metres away. Perfectly legal then, of course. Today's supporters might not recognise the satisfaction of the perfectly-executed shirtfront. Not much fun for the recipient, of course. North kicked 8.5 to 0.1 with the breeze in the first quarter that day to set up a rare win at Windy Hill.
VFL Park - much maligned, but a very comfortable day at the football. Saw 116 matches here, so I got to know it well. Admittedly it was a fairly dismal place when your team was a mile behind and the rain was coming down. Favourite memories - Conlan's goal to sink Essendon in the '86 elimination. Hawthorn beating Melbourne after the siren in the 1987 prelim. The Geelong-St.Kilda final of 1991 was a great game. The lights going out before the first-ever night match there in 1977 and delaying the start of the Fitzroy-North game by 55 minutes. Carey's massive torpedo goal in the 1998 night final against St.Kilda.
Victoria Park - wasn't a huge fan at the time, but I took a wander around there while the stands and walls and scoreboard were still standing about 15 years ago and I might have underestimated the place. Favourite memory - watching Collingwood play South Melbourne in pelting rain from a position perched up on a wire fence at the back of the Rush Stand, 1980.
Princes Park - similar to Vic Park, the Carlton ground never did much for me at the time, but I went back a few years ago and it is still worth seeing even today. The Hawthorn Stand was very unusual. The old outer at the scoreboard end was a good place to watch the game. Favourite memories - David Dwyer's goal after to siren to beat Carlton in 1985, being part of a 35,000 crowd seeing Carlton play Richmond there in 1982. The souvenir stand catching fire in the Collingwood game a few weeks later. Holding Fitzroy to 1 goal there in '89. Seeing North reach 200 points against Fitzroy in 1995. Bill Swan kicking a massive goal to win a flag for Williamstown in 1990.
Moorabbin - had its good points, but naturally lacked a little on the history side of things compared to others. Excellent atmosphere though when there was a big crowd in. Favourite memories - Lockett's 100th and then winning goal against Footscray in '87. Melbourne's late comeback to knock over the Saints in 1977.
Kardinia Park - there was nothing wrong with Geelong, but it just didn't grab me like the others. Favourite memories: Silvagni versus Ablett in 1996. North storming home with 8 goals to 0 in the last to beat the Cats in 1991.
WTF? 116 games ?
Amazing!
Did you actually count games you went to over the years?
If you were following North whom only played there a couple of times a year how the hell did you get to so many games there on top of following North each weekend ?
Did you live down Jells Road or something?
Derby103
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Oh, I always kept a record of the games I'd been to. First in a book, then in Excel when they invented it. Was always surprised that no-one else seemed to do that!
I'd just go to the football with whoever would take me, even if it was a non-North game.
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Some of my favourite moments were being in or near old grounds as a student. Didn't have to see games there even. Their melancholy still presses.
I also keep a spreadsheet of all the games I’ve been too. Went to most of the old grounds in the day - Arden St, Windy Hill, Vic Park, Princes Park, Moorabbin, MCG & Waverley. But never went to Western Oval or Junction Oval. The others Lakeside oval, Punt Rd & Brunswick St were finished as venues long before my time. These days after living in Perth for awhile I’ve been to more Eagles and Dockers games then Collingwood ones...
Yeah, I feel blessed to have grown up going to the footy when those grounds you went to still existed. The atmosphere of Saturday arvo going to footy for different experiences at different venues is something we lost now that treasure having experienced. Like you, the Lakeside oval was gone by time I started going to footy. South moved to SCG in Sydney but chuffed I went to Junction Oval in early 1980's for Fitzroy v Carlton game. I treasure that one especially given Fitzroy is now gone and that ground itself had so much history of league football and VFA footy on it. The Western Oval I probably went to at least 5 or 6 times.
It is funny, now even Football Park and Subiaco are gone too. I think I went to about 3 or 4 games at Football Park and one at Subiaco in only time I ever been in Perth.
Been to SCG and Homebush in Sydney but nothing in Queensland.
I am kind of looking forward to going to Geelong at Kardinia Park next season and do not remember going there since the mid 1990's.
Golden days of going to league football before it got turned into a theatre going event and part of television entertainment industry.
We very lucky to have caught it all before it got changed forever.
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There was always a lot of ad hoc shit going around with the AFL and there still is. They could change anything in a fixture and it was their discretion. Throw in clubs having no money, Waverley being owned by the VFL, and then in the late 90s and 2000s Etihad being built and you have a 20-30 year period where clubs have no idea when the last game at a ground will be.
In retrospect Carlton were lucky to have a bonafide farewell and to treat it as such; games kept dwindling down and then they got the one-off in 2005. At the same time there was the rhetoric of it being used heaps in 2006 during the Commonwealth Games so who knows. If Etihad wasn't so new and cared for by the AFL I wonder if that 2006 period would have revitalised Optus enough to keep games there now.
In retrospect Carlton were lucky to have a bonafide farewell and to treat it as such; games kept dwindling down and then they got the one-off in 2005. At the same time there was the rhetoric of it being used heaps in 2006 during the Commonwealth Games so who knows. If Etihad wasn't so new and cared for by the AFL I wonder if that 2006 period would have revitalised Optus enough to keep games there now.
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Anyone know how long cricket went on at these grounds? I'm guessing Princes Park had so many nearby ovals it was pretty early before Carlton took the main gig at Optus, but what about Windy Hill and Arden Street? This picture of the old grandstand at Arden Street makes it look like people are watching something in the warmth so it got me thinking:
Anyone know how long cricket went on at these grounds? I'm guessing Princes Park had so many nearby ovals it was pretty early before Carlton took the main gig at Optus, but what about Windy Hill and Arden Street? This picture of the old grandstand at Arden Street makes it look like people are watching something in the warmth so it got me thinking:
They still play cricket at Windy Hill now. North Melbourne we’re still playing Cricket at Arden Street well into the 2000’s, getting kicked out around when the redevelopment started.
Princes Park hosted a shield game around 1997, but I can’t remember the last time district cricket was played there.
Victoria were playing one day games at Punt Road in the early 2000’s and I remember Wallace complaining about Cricket being played there, so they would have still be playing there late 2000’s.
Junction Oval still hosts cricket now and will be first class standard soon (if not already)
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Isn't Sheffield Shield essentially going from the MCG, or its later parts are, to go almost full time at the Junction?
Do you know what the wickets were like? I can't remember ever seeing one at Optus Oval.
Cricket Victoria are moving to Junction Oval, but not sure if every shield game is moving there. They are playing at the MCG this weekend, so not sure how far down the line the redevelopment is.
I’m not sure what the wickets were like, Liam Pickering was still playing district cricket for North Melbourne up until about 10 years ago and he said the wickets didn’t have much life in them and that you just got on the front foot and played through the line.
